diff --git a/doc/plans/2026-10-25-voice-drain-repair.md b/doc/plans/2026-10-25-voice-drain-repair.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e7f761ae35b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/plans/2026-10-25-voice-drain-repair.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Voice recovery drain repair
+
+Owner: slice 21, PR #17576. Reviewed baseline: 1bf70185d2.
+
+Greptile finding 4370544173 is valid. The worker retained dirty scopes while
+paused, and reported those in-memory hints as pending work. After the producer
+committed, the coordinator therefore retained its intent activity hold. No SQL
+was required to reproduce the blocked drain; the earlier quiet assertion checked
+SQL only and missed the nonzero idle counter.
+
+The worker now reports pending dirty scopes only while dispatch is permitted.
+It still retains every hint and next deadline. The coordinator independently
+checks databaseWorkPending, so an open/uncertain transaction retains its activity
+hold until transaction reconciliation establishes settlement. Paused timers then
+use the existing passive-maintenance path without changing the idle generation.
+Resume processes the retained first session without another producer signal.
+No provider behavior or external sleep eligibility rule changes.
+
+The strengthened real-PostgreSQL test proves: an open write during drain retains
+an activity hold; commit releases it; a further minute causes neither SQL nor
+an idle-snapshot change; resume processes the one retained session exactly once.
+
+- /tmp/sleep21-drain-before.log: original worker fails, active is 1 instead of 0.
+- /tmp/sleep21-drain-tests.log: all 11 voice recovery lifecycle tests pass.
+- /tmp/sleep21-drain-typecheck.log: production server typecheck passes.
+- Dedicated migrated database: paperclip_sleep21_drain_20261025_test.
+
+Propagate this predicate into slice 22's extracted scoped-deadline worker and
+all descendants, then rerun its existing consumers. The earlier tool-health,
+Discord command, and receiver workers have the same predicate pattern; audit
+and repair those at their own parent PRs as a separate propagation pass. Do not
+report all stack drain behavior fixed from the voice test alone. The company
+inbound cleanup/deletion policy, older E2E failure, current chat milestone audit,
+and full original inventory remain outstanding.
+
+
+## Shared-worker propagation in slice 22
+
+Slice 22 extracts voice recovery into scoped-deadline-work. The merge keeps that
+extraction and applies the predicate in the shared dispatcher, covering both
+voice session recovery and reply delivery. The phone-reply drain test now also
+checks zero active work and an unchanged idle snapshot during a further minute,
+then verifies the saved reply sends on resume without another producer.
+
+- /tmp/sleep22-shared-drain-tests.log: 11 recovery cases pass.
+- /tmp/sleep22-shared-drain-acceptance.log: all 108 voice integration cases pass.
+- /tmp/sleep22-reply-drain-tests.log: the strengthened reply drain case passes
+  on a separate fresh database after the full suite run.
+- /tmp/sleep22-shared-drain-typecheck.log: production server types pass.
+
+All later shared-worker consumers inherit this repair through the stack. Their
+combined-tip checks and PR checks still need fresh verification after propagation.
diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/voice-recovery-work.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/voice-recovery-work.test.ts
index 946209e55cb..cde5cacfecf 100644
--- a/server/src/__tests__/voice-recovery-work.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/voice-recovery-work.test.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,16 @@ const support = external ? { supported: true } : await getEmbeddedPostgresTestSu
     await settled(); expect(inspect).toHaveBeenCalledOnce(); await quiet();
   });
   it("preserves the first session during drain without passive database reads", async () => {
-    await start(); await settled(); enabled = false; await session(); await quiet(60_000); expect(inspect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    await start(); await settled(); enabled = false;
+    await db.transaction(async tx => {
+      await session({}, tx as unknown as typeof db);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(60_000);
+      expect(idleWorkSnapshot().active).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+      expect(inspect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+    await vi.waitFor(async () => { await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1000); expect(idleWorkSnapshot().active).toBe(0); });
+    const drained = idleWorkSnapshot();
+    await quiet(60_000); expect(idleWorkSnapshot()).toEqual(drained); expect(inspect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     enabled = true; await settled(); expect(inspect).toHaveBeenCalledOnce(); await quiet();
   });
   it("retries unavailable authority without ending a valid provider call", async () => {
diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/voice-session-store.integration.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/voice-session-store.integration.test.ts
index c1979204a3e..7d8bf684ed3 100644
--- a/server/src/__tests__/voice-session-store.integration.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/voice-session-store.integration.test.ts
@@ -1032,7 +1032,9 @@ const support = external ? { supported: true } : await getEmbeddedPostgresTestSu
       const [publication] = await db.insert(chatPublications).values({ companyId: f.companyId, endpointId: f.endpointId,
         conversationId: f.conversationId, issueId: f.issueId, idempotencyKey: randomUUID(), state: "published", payload: { text: "After resume" } }).returning();
       await f.store.enqueuePublication(f.companyId, publication.id);
-      await worker.quiet(60_000); expect(f.transport.sendCallMessage).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      await vi.waitFor(async () => { await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1000); expect(idleWorkSnapshot().active).toBe(0); });
+      const drained = idleWorkSnapshot();
+      await worker.quiet(60_000); expect(idleWorkSnapshot()).toEqual(drained); expect(f.transport.sendCallMessage).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
       enabled = true; await worker.settled();
       expect(f.transport.sendCallMessage).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2); expect(f.transport.sendCallMessage.mock.calls.at(-1)?.[1]).toBe("After resume");
       await worker.quiet(); expect(worker.onError).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
diff --git a/server/src/services/scoped-deadline-work.ts b/server/src/services/scoped-deadline-work.ts
index ee7f532b14e..931d0c97bf5 100644
--- a/server/src/services/scoped-deadline-work.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/scoped-deadline-work.ts
@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@ export function registerScopedDeadlineWork<Entry extends ScheduledEntry, Scope>(
       }
       if (errors.length) throw new AggregateError(errors, `${options.queue} could not settle`);
     },
-    hasPending: async () => dirty.size > 0,
+    // Retain scopes/deadlines for resume without retaining a settled write's
+    // idle hold during drain. The coordinator still fences unresolved XIDs.
+    hasPending: async () => canRun() && dirty.size > 0,
     nextRunAt: next,
   });
   return worker;