Agencies are telling furloughed federal employees that they’re expected to show up Thursday morning, now that House lawmakers have ended the longest government shutdown.

Many of these federal employees have been on furlough for the past six weeks, and face a considerable backlog of work upon their return.

At least 670,000 federal employees have been furloughed, and 730,000 employees have been working without pay during the shutdown.

The spending plan passed by the House on Wednesday evening includes back pay for furloughed federal employees and those who worked without pay during the shutdown.

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The Senate passed the shutdown-ending spending plan on Monday. The spending package includes a continuing resolution that will keep many agencies funded at current spending levels until Jan. 30, 2026.

Lawmakers also approved FY 2026 funding for the Agriculture Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction and the legislative branch.

The deal also reserves layoffs for about 4,000 federal employees and protects employees from further layoffs through Jan. 30.

In response, the IRS is in the process of rescinding layoff notices that were sent to mostly human resources and IT employees last month.

The Department of Health and Human Services told employees in an email Wednesday evening that it is “hopeful that the Democrat-led government shutdown may conclude today.”

“Please monitor the news closely and be prepared to return to work if Congress passes the appropriations bill this evening, and President Trump subsequently signs the bill into law,” the HHS email states.

The email, obtained by Federal News Network, states that all HHS employees who were furloughed must report for duty at their official duty station on Nov. 13, if the bill is signed into law on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

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“We deeply appreciate your patience, cooperation, and resilience during this challenging time. Thank you and your teams for your dedication and continued service on behalf of the American people,” the email states.

The Census Bureau is also directing its employees to return to work.

“If you’ve been following, it seems like a return to work is in view,” a bureau manager told employees on Wednesday. “Even in the absence of an [Emergency Notification System] message, we should expect to go to work tomorrow, if the President signs off.”

Meanwhile, the IRS chief human capital office (CHCO) is in the process of rescinding reduction in force notices that were sent to employees on Oct. 10, according to two IRS employees.

An IRS program manager told employees on Wednesday that “when the government reopens, CHCO will be sending RIF recession letters.”

IRS employees told Federal News Network that the layoffs put additional stress on an already beleaguered agency, which is looking to hire and train a substantial number of employees ahead of next year’s filing season.

The IRS is in the middle of preparations for next year’s filing season, which involves more work than usual, because the agency must implement the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act that Congress passed this summer.

An IRS program manager told staff that they “should continue to monitor the news, as we know we are getting closer to reopening and transitioning into the reactivation phase.”

The IRS has already lost about 25% of its workforce so far this year, largely through voluntary incentives.

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More than 4,000 federal employees across the government received RIF notices in mid-October, following guidance from the White House that encouraged agencies to move forward with layoffs in the event of a funding lapse.

But those RIF notices will be reversed, as part of the deal to end the government shutdown.

The bill states that between the date of enactment and Jan. 30, no federal funds may be used “to initiate, carry out, implement, or otherwise notice a reduction in force to reduce the number of employees within any department, agency, or office of the federal government.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that “President Trump looks forward to finally ending this devastating Democrat shutdown with his signature, and we hope that signing will take place later tonight.”

Even with the rollback of the shutdown layoffs, Leavitt said the Trump administration has still taken major steps to “reduce the size of our federal bureaucracy.”

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