Question

The U.S. federal government recently experienced its longest shutdown in history. Choose three of the themes below and discuss how the shutdown likely affected government organizations in relation to each of the selected areas and how the affected areas may have been impacted and/or impacted each other as a result. Your response must be at least 500 words in length and you should include multiple references to the course text in your response.

Themes: Human Resources Management The Budgetary Process Public Management Intergovernmental Relations Public Service Ethics

Answer 1

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A TOTAL OF 599 WORDS!

The federal government's shutdown is a very big thing to happen. It will become the longest such closure on record if it lasts. Although some important work is also being carried out, such as mail distribution and law enforcement, the closure has disrupted activities at nine departments, including Homeland Security, Defense, State and Treasury, and many agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA. After the closure started, at airports around the country, Transportation Security Administration staff, all of whom are responsible for checking passengers and luggage, have been called out sick in larger numbers.

The following is the effect in relation to Human Resource Management:

E-Verify / Form I-9 Completion — The E-Verify portal is technically out of use because it is not operated by the agency that operates it. It means you won't get the usual short response as to whether or not the new recruits are ready for US jobs. It does not mean, however, that you are free from the burden. The government also requires all of the workers to file I-9 reports within their first three working days. TLNT has information on termination of E-Verify. SHRM released an early roundup of the shuttered departments and the possible effects on businesses.

The EEOC — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suspended, meaning limits are imposed on their programs. While this does not impact HR and payroll enforcement procedures directly, this is the agency that regulates allegations of racial discrimination and enforces federal anti-discrimination laws. It's important for HR practitioners to counsel workers on racial harassment circumstances and note that the resources of the EEOC are actually limited. They will still accept cases but it could be difficult to advance. Check the EEOC website page for comprehensive details about what's what isn't available from their office during shutdown.

AIR XML file processing for ACA — Anybody filing their Affordable Care Act (ACA) documents with the government's ACA Report Returns (AIR) program for the first time this year might face some challenges because the assistance desk that operates the program is currently closed. After sending and approving your AIR contact test file, the normal procedure is to call the support desk and turn your account to Output so that you can properly upload your real AIR XML script. Since no one is there at this stage there is no way to complete this operation.

The IRS / tax season — This one reaches out to all the employees in accounting and banking who are planning for annual tax reporting, so it may also have an effect on HR practitioners. The shutdown impacts the IRS significantly, but the department also insists that on January 28, the tax filing season will continue as scheduled. That said, all workers that usually answer tax filing queries and provide support facilities over the tax season are furloughed, and even though you do file, you may have difficulty getting answers from the IRS though you run into difficulties or ask how to treat different sections of your filing.

Conclusion - What makes this loss of assistance even more complicated this year is the fact that this is the first tax filing season in which the current tax code is in effect and our tax forms and procedures have changed a lot. There are also conflicts in views about whether tax refunds would be impacted by the government shutdown along with the tax code amendments. The President directed 46,000 IRS workers to come to work without pay to administer the returns and answer questions from taxpayers. But some sources say sickouts or legal challenges could prohibit refunds from going out.

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