The lowdown on the shutdown: What the government closure means for employee benefits

At midnight today, the federal government shut down all non-essential operations after self-involved posturing and childish tantrums from congressional leaders on Monday—which they apparently referred to as “negotiating”—failed to produce an appropriations compromise that would keep the government funded and running.

Despite the fact that the shutdown was both completely unnecessary and unpopular, it’s here, until lawmakers can reach a budget agreement. Since there’s no word on when that might be (the last government shutdown in 1996 lasted 21 days), we wanted to make sure you know and understand exactly how the shutdown affects employers—specifically as it pertains to employee benefits—so that you can plan your company’s operations accordingly.

Regarding health care reform

Health insurance exchanges, created under the Affordable Care Act, are open as scheduled today for enrollment. For employee populations that are non-benefits eligible, let them know that they still can go to healthcare.gov to get information about how to enroll for coverage through their state’s exchange.

If you are a small business, it’s important to note that SHOP (Small Business Health Option Program), the small business version of the exchange marketplace, is not open online for business today. Applicants still can enroll by mail, fax or phone. However, this is not related to the shutdown; rather, the delay (projected to last about one month) is due to a technical problem that just happens to have coincided with the budget failure.

Regarding business with the Department of Labor 

The DOL has a written and public action plan on its website that details how the agency will operate under a “lapse in appropriations” (government-speak for “shutdown”). The plan is 63 pages long, so here are the benefits-related highlights:

• Of the agency’s more than 16,000 employees, slightly fewer than 3,000 will remain on the job during the shutdown.
• Of those, only 46 of the 986 employees of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will report to work.
• The Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration will cease operations almost entirely. WHD will only investigate “incidents involving serious injury or death of a minor while employed, or any transportation accident or housing safety violation involving the serious injury or death of a farm worker.” OSHA will only respond to emergencies related to “the safety of human life or protection of property.”
• The Employment and Training Administration will not process foreign labor certifications.
• The Office of Labor Management Standards will only investigate “criminal cases under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act”—and only then if the cases involve strict statutory deadlines.
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will suspend nearly all operations, including investigating discrimination charges, responding to public queries and correspondence and conducting mediation and litigation.
• The National Labor Relations Board will only have 11 employees remaining on the job during the shutdown and will cease on non-essential functions, including resolving union disputes and reinstating back pay.

Read more about how the shutdown affects other areas of American life.