Compliance Stuff

The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history has ended, and employers must now refocus their attention on agency actions and compliance priorities that may have resumed or accelerated. After 43 days of near-total inactivity, key labor and employment agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL), and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), are back online and poised to clear massive backlogs. This means a surge in enforcement activity, renewed regulatory initiatives, and heightened scrutiny across multiple fronts.  Why the Crunch Matters During the shutdown, most non-essential agency functions were suspended. EEOC investigations stalled, and mediations and investigative conferences were canceled . The DOL halted wage and hour audits, classification reviews, and technical assistance, while the NLRB postponed union elections and representation hearings. Although deadlines for certain filings were tolled (temporarily suspen...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is officially back to work now that the government shutdown has ended. Now that OSHA has a full complement of agency staff available, employers should be prepared for agency  operations that had temporarily ceased because they were not deemed “essential ” to resume, including inspections under OSHA’s recently announced  Site-Specific Targeting (SST) program . Likewise, new agency positions related to rulemaking and other policy positions may soon emerge. During the shutdown, inspections were primarily limited to high-gravity serious violations, imminent danger situations, and responses to fatalities and catastrophes . OSHA also continued necessary enforcement activities on certain open cases when needed to meet the agency’s six-month statutory deadlines, including issuing citations. Thus, employers should be mindful of any deadlines associated with receipt of citations or other enforcement activities during the shutdown ...

The  Beltway Buzz ™ is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business. Shutdown Ends, Federal Government Reopens.  The record-breaking forty-three-day federal government shutdown ended this week. On the evening of November 12, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law a spending package that extended government funding for most federal agencies through January 30, 2026, while also funding the legislative branch and the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs through September 30, 2026 . The deal also reversed the layoffs of federal employees that had occurred during the shutdown and ensured that furloughed federal workers would receive back pay. Notably, the legislative package did not include an extension of Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Thus, with the spending issue merely postponed a...

With the federal government shutdown ending, employers need to shift gears fast. Key federal agencies will soon resume normal operations, and we’ll see regulatory action and oversight surge back into motion. This is the moment to move from pause to power-up: review where your organization hit the brakes, identify what got delayed, and prepare for the ramp-up ahead. Here’s what you should expect and what you should do. Mechanics of the Restart With federal funding resumed, many previously “non-essential” agency functions will begin to re-activate. But don’t expect an immediate return to normalcy. Agencies will need to dig out from the backlog created by the longest shutdown in our nation’s history, so you’ll see a gradual ramp-up period for pending investigations, audits, applications, and compliance checks. Officials will likely prioritize high-risk or high-profile issues. For employers, your quiet window is now closed. If your organization postponed compliance initiatives, filings,...