In the context of shutdown furloughs, the term "excepted" is used to refer to employees who are funded through annual appropriations who are nonetheless excepted from the furlough because they are performing work that, by law, may continue to be performed during a lapse in appropriations. Excepted employees include employees who are performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property or performing certain other types of excepted work. Agency legal counsels, working with senior agency managers, are determining which employees are designated to be handling "excepted" and "non-excepted" functions. See
http://www.opm.gov/furlough/OMBGuidance/index.asp for copies of DOJ issuances, which provide guidance on the application of these criteria.