The Impact of the Federal Government Shutdown on DOL

By Al Vreeland - Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.

October 6, 2025

As no one knows how long it will last, the federal government shutdown which began Tuesday night has bred uncertainty across all federal agencies, including those within the Department of Labor (DOL) and its related agencies.  Here’s what we know:

Wage and Hour Division – which is responsible for enforcing minimum wage and overtime laws as well as child labor laws.  According to DOL’s contingency plan, the WHD will cease most regulatory and enforcement activities, with the exception of matters which affect health and safety (such as child labor violations).  During the shutdown, WHD will not conduct standard wage and hour investigations, conduct compliance audits or provide technical assistance.  All administrative hearings will be paused.  Regulatory proceedings will also be paused – which may delay the repeal of the 2024 change to the independent contractor definition under the FLSA. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – which is responsible for enforcing prohibitions on employment discrimination.  Like WHD, the EEOC will pause pending investigations and mediations. It will, however, take necessary steps to intake new charges where the filing deadline may be near.

National Labor Relations Board – which conducts union elections and enforces workers’ rights to engage in collective action. The Board will not process new representation petitions, conduct elections or investigate unfair labor practice charges.  The Board also will not conduct any administrative hearings during the shutdown.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration – which enforces federal workplace safety rules.  Although routine safety inspections will be paused, OSHA will continue to investigate serious workplace safety issues.  Specifically, OSHA will investigate concerns of imminent danger as well as workplace fatalities.  It will also continue follow-up inspections of high gravity, serious violations. And it will continue enforcement efforts necessary to meet its six-month deadline for issuing citations where employees are potentially exposed to hazardous conditions that present a high risk of death or serious physical harm. Note carefully that the 15-day period for contesting citations will not be stayed during the shutdown, but informal conferences will not likely be possible.  Several new and revised OSHA standards (such as the proposed heat standard and revisions to lockout/tagout) will be delayed as well.

During the 2018 shutdown, most of these agencies issued additional guidance on specifically what functions would continue.  If you have pending matters before any of these agencies, you should monitor their status carefully.

www.lehrmiddlebrooks.com