Just because the federal government may be on the verge of another shutdown doesn't mean the work stops for HR. Internal investigations should move forward, even if federal investigations are paused.
If Congress fails to pass a funding bill by its midnight Sept. 30 deadline, the federal government will cease nonessential operations starting Oct. 1. While political debate continues, here is an overview of enforcement leading up to the shutdown and some of the effects a shutdown could have on enforcement, short-term and long-term.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigations have already slowed, even before any shutdown, said Mike McClory, an attorney with Cable Huston in Portland, Ore.
He said that increasingly he's seen EEOC claims closed without full investigations due to a lack of agency resources. If there's a government shutdown, there may be a backlog of claims after it. Or, McClory said, if the shutdown is lengthy, "on return, the EEOC may dismiss a number of other cases in its backlog" due to a lack of resources.
But Jonathan Segal, an attorney with Duane Morris in Philadelphia and New York City, said, "The cases I have with the EEOC continue to proceed. Nothing in my practice has slowed down. That doesn't mean in some cases it hasn't [proceeded]."
Wage and hour audits by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) would slow if there were a shutdown, McClory noted. He said he didn't think the DOL's backlog...
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