Employees’ resources for dealing with the goverment shut down

Government Shut Down Oct 1, 2013

The budget impass in Washington DC and the resulting government shut down has a direct affect on many employment matters.  The government shut down at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, 2013.

If you have an employment discrimination claim, you may have to meet a deadline by filing it in a timely manner through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  If you are a government worker and have a pending MSPB or EEO appeal, your investigation and appeals process may be stalled.

It is difficult to estimate how long the shut down will last but the 1995 shut down lasted 28 days!   You are responsible for finding out how to proceed with your employment claim despite the government shut down.

Below are some information regarding the EEOC shut down plan

EEOC ACTIVITIES THAT WILL NOT OCCUR DURING SHUTDOWN:

1. Staff will not be available to answer questions from the public, or to respond to correspondence from the public.
2. While the EEOC will accept charges that must be filed in order to preserve the rights of a claimant during a shutdown, these charges will not be investigated.
3. Insofar as the courts grant EEOC’s requests for extensions of time, EEOC will not litigate in the federal courts.
4. Mediations will be cancelled.
5. Federal sector hearings will be cancelled, and federal employees’ appeals of discrimination complaints will not be decided.
6. Outreach and education events will be cancelled.
7. No FOIA requests will be processed.

EEOC ACTIVITIES THAT WILL CONTINUE DURING THE SHUT DOWN

1. The Commission will accept and docket new charges, and examine if immediate injunctive relief is necessary; however, the Commission will not conduct any investigations during the shutdown.
2. The Commission will continue to litigate cases when a court denies a request for extension of time, but otherwise litigation will be suspended.
3. The Commission will seek immediate injunctive relief for charges in which it is necessary to protect life or property.
4. The Commission will maintain the integrity and viability of its information systems, and the security of its offices and property.
5. As a result of the above, some staff in field offices will continue to work on these “bare minimum” or “emergency” tasks.  Source http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/shutdown_plan.cfm.

If you have been the victim of work discrimination or wrongful termination, you may still file your charge of discrimination with the EEOC.  Your charge will be file stamped but not processed or investigated. When the shut down is lifted, the EEOC will process the backlog of new charges.

The Department of Labor Shut Down plan is found here.  http://www.dol.gov/dol/shutdown.htm

The National Labor Relations Board shut down plan is found here. http://mynlrb.nlrb.gov/

All Federal courts will remain open until at least October 11th.