outsolve insights

The government shutdown is in its third week and human resource professionals find themselves in a tough spot. They must balance continuing operations as normal with the knowledge that their employees may be feeling stressed or tapped out, especially if they are not getting paid or fear losing their job. 

This article is part of an ongoing legal series designed to provide insight and practical guidance on current and emerging workplace compliance issues. These insights shared by lawyers are based on their interpretation of existing regulations and proposed changes, and intended for informational purposes, not to be regarded as legal advice.

When Washington shuts down, government employees and contractors face multiple systemic issues and consequences. Federal offices sit empty, contracts get snared in limbo, and government contractors face half-finished projects and uncertainty about employee payrolls. Not surprisingly, shutdowns also stir up numerous questions: How long will furloughs last? Who pays for out-of-work employees? And most immediately, exactly who is affected by a government shutdown and how? 

On September 17, 2025, the public comment period closed on three regulatory proposals issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).  

Update as of October 9, 2025: Brittany Panuccio has been confirmed by the Senate as an EEOC commissioner, restoring the EEOC quorum. She was confirmed by a vote of 51-47 on Tuesday, October 7 and fills the seat left vacant by Keith Sonderling. Her confirmation gives Republicans the majority in the EEOC.

This confirmation is crucial as is not restores the quorum in the EEOC meaning they can now issue official guidance. 

President Trump has nominated Brittany Panuccio to become a commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). There are currently three empty seats on the five-member panel at the EEOC and this nomination, if approved, would fill one of them leaving two open.  

Update as of October 9, 2025: Despite the continued government shutdown, E-Verify has resumed operations. Employers must:

• • Submit E-Verify cases for anyone who was hired during the shutdown by Tuesday, October 14. 
  • Revise Referral Date Confirmations for employees who received a mismatch and notified you of their intent to contest it - more information found here
    

For more information on what you need to do with E-Verify cases, tentative nonconfirmations, federal contractor deadlines, and more, visit the E-Verify website here.

Government Shutdown Impact on E-Verify 

As of 12:01 AM on October 1, 2025, the federal government has shut down due to Congress's inability to pass funding legislation. This shutdown has resulted in the temporary suspension of the E-Verify system, which is operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

On September 11, 2025, the Fourth Circuit heard oral argument in one of the first cases to challenge the constitutionality of the two clauses in Executive Order 14173 that have been nicknamed “the certification provisions.”    

OutSolve collaborates with law firm Roffman Horvitz, PLC, who specializes in assisting government contractors and other employers with human resources compliance and employment data analytics. Their attorneys will be occasional contributors to the OutSolve blog.

The U.S. Senate’s Appropriations Committee has advanced for a full Senate vote an appropriations package that includes $105,997,600 in funds for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).   

The Secretary of Labor’s Order 08-2025 lifts the temporary pause (abeyance) on the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) processing of Section 503 (Rehabilitation Act) and VEVRAA (Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act) compliance reviews and complaint investigations. The revocation of Executive Order 11246 remains in effect, but obligations under Section 503 and VEVRAA continue. Below are clear action items and guidance for federal contractors in light of these changes.

On Friday, June 27, 2025, OFCCP Director Catherine Eschbach issued a letter to all federal contractors with a voluntary request for information. The letter starts off by detailing the Executive Order changes that have occurred since January 21, 2025, focusing on the issuance of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, and the rescission of EO 11246 which mandated affirmative action requirements.  

1. No one knows when the Federal Acquisition Counsel will publish the coming two new certifications it is planning to require federal government contractors to make when submitting federal contract bids. Pending litigation in one court is momentarily delaying their implementation, as noted below. 
2. Quick Background: These certification requirements sprang up in President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order 14151   (Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing) and January 21, 2025, Executive Order 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity). See my March 24, 2025, Previous blog HERE describing the two pre-contract certifications and their status at that time. 
   
   That blog reported a major Trump (interim) injunction a potentially quizzical 3-Judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Richmond) issued in his favor. The injunction greenlighted President Trump’s use of the two certifications pending a later full review of the competing claims of the parties on the merits. Significantly, however, the three Judges found, in support of their interim Order, that the President’s legal arguments enjoyed a high likelihood to prevail on the merits upon the later full review of the case. And, of course, it would be these same three Judges who would make that final decision on the merits. 
   
   So, things were looking up for the President to require federal contractors to certify that they had no unlawfully discriminatory policies or practices when they bid federal contracts.   
3. Since then, however, Judge Matthew Kennelly of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois also weighed in on the certifications, among other things, in an unrelated lawsuit the Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) brought to stop both of President Trump’s above-referenced Executive Orders. 

On March 27, 2025, Judge Kennelly issued a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting USDOL from enforcing certain provisions of both Executive Orders 14151 and 14173, including the two federal contract bid certifications. The case is Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) v. Trump, et al No. 1:2025-cv-02005 (N.D. Ill. 2025).