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I will start my clerkship on 21 October. Should I just report for duty on that day? Is it okay to call to find out if I am furloughed before I start? I will need to move from coast to coast, so it is not trivial.

I'd be very surprised if you were not considered to be an essential employee. My understanding is that most courts consider chambers staff to be essential. Because of courts' criminal dockets, they can't shutdown.

The last shutdown lasted 21 days, and there is a pretty good chance that by Oct. 21, things will be resolved (unless there is another debt ceiling shutdown). You probably don't have to worry for another two weeks, if at all--federal courts have some reserves, which differ from court to court, and won't be shutting down completely.

Good to know. That's what I thought.

The reserve supposed to run out in 10 days. Although, this issue will likely be resolved before your start date, even if it is not resolved, judicial law clerks are considered essential employees and, thus, must report for work. After the reserve runs out, we will still be working but will not get paid until congress resolves this issue (i.e. we will get paid retroactively)

Anonymous User wrote:I will start my clerkship on 21 October. Should I just report for duty on that day? Is it okay to call to find out if I am furloughed before I start? I will need to move from coast to coast, so it is not trivial.

Hey OP. May I ask what court you're going to? I am in the same situation - I have a clerkship slated to start 10/21 and have not yet received specific notice as to being furloughed. I assume I am not furloughed, but I also haven't been told what time I should arrive for my first day.... Needless to say, the whole situation is unsettling.

Chambers are generally pretty lax about telling you when to show up etc. If you have questions, just call and ask. It's really not a big deal - they're often waiting for you to contact them.