Shutdown Showdown. (Beltway Buzz - January 19, 2018)

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 Showdown. Trying to keep track of the media reports on the negotiations being conducted to avoid a government shutdown has the Buzz feeling as confused as Lou Costello in his famous routine with his partner Bud Abbott ("What?" "Why?" "Who said what?"). Standing in the way of a funding bill are matters like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) fix and funding for increased border enforcement. Suffice it to say that if an agreement isn't reached by the end of the day today, January 19, the federal government will shut down. The last time the government shut down was in 2013, with the Affordable Care Act being a sticking point. For employers, a government shutdown could slow down the processing of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) forms that are required for