The federal government shut down all non-essential functions as of Tuesday at 12am.  All OFCCP personnel have been declared “non-essential”, so OFCCP has ceased all operations for the duration of the shutdown.

Ironically, OFCCP just sent a wave of audit letters to employers, apparently to get them out by the end of OFCCP’s fiscal year on September 30^th. Those AAPs are due for the submission 30 days after receipt of the audit letter.  Employers should consider whether to submit an AAP – which typically includes confidential and sensitive data and information – during the shutdown since there is no one at OFCCP’s offices to receive it.  Instead, consider holding onto the plan until OFCCP returns.  You can also send an email to the Compliance Officer or District Director noted in the audit letter – the email address will be last name.first name@dol.gov – indicating you are holding the plan because of the shutdown and to please contact you upon their return.

Employers in the middle of an audit and in the process of responding to OFCCP post-submission requests should also consider the effects of the shutdown.  While the shutdown may give you more time to prepare the responses, you should not count on the shutdown for substantially more time.  The shutdown could be over quickly and, if so, OFCCP Compliance Officers will be expecting the responses when they get back.  In addition, the District Directors could issue Show Cause Notices for failure to submit upon return.  Therefore, if the information can be submitted by email, consider whether to submit in the time-frame you normally would or submitting upon return (without waiting for the Compliance Officer to follow-up).