Federal Government Shutdown Halts Most OSHA Operations, Creating Enforcement and Litigation Delays
The lapse in federal funding on October 1 has shuttered most OSHA activities, delaying enforcement actions and legal proceedings while limiting agency operations to imminent danger, fatality inspections, and other critical functions.
- By Peter Vassalo
- Oct 03, 2025
As the clock struck midnight on October 1, 2025, appropriated funds to much of the federal government, including the Department of Labor (DOL), lapsed, leading to a shutdown of all “nonessential” operations. Even though an operation may be deemed nonessential, such operations still play a critical role in the overall operation of federal enforcement agencies with DOL such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As a result, the impact of a federal government shutdown will be substantial for employers navigating a federal OSHA enforcement action or involved in OSHA-related litigation. Note that state occupational safety and health agencies operating under an OSHA-recognized state plan, including large states such as California, will continue to operate normally, as they are subject to different funding streams.
While statutorily mandated contest and abatement deadlines will continue during the shutdown in federal OSHA jurisdiction, (even though OSHA personnel may not be present), employers will not be able to engage with OSHA as its personnel are furloughed and barred from performing any government work, including accessing government information systems, unless the matter involves a specified excepted activity. Further, OSHA’s adjudicatory body, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), is also shuttered due to a funding lapse. As such, there will be delays and continuances in hearings, settlements, decisions, and mediations until the shutdown can be resolved.
DOL is currently operating under a contingency plan (dol-contingency-plan.pdf), which specifies the “essential” functions of OSHA that will be maintained during a shutdown. The plan limits OSHA enforcement to the following activities:
- Inspection of imminent danger situations;
- Inspection of workplace fatalities and catastrophes;
- Review of whistleblower complaints and subsequent referrals to an appropriate agency of any complaint that identifies a workplace or public safety and/or health condition that poses, or if not referred or acted upon, is reasonably likely to pose, an imminent threat to the safety of human life or the protection of property;
- Follow-up inspections of establishments with high-gravity, serious violations and no abatement; and
- Enforcement activities on open cases needed to meet the Agency’s six-month statutory deadline to issue citations where those cases establish employees are potentially exposed to hazardous conditions that present a high risk of death or serious physical harm.
All other non-essential operations, including ongoing rulemaking activities, cooperative programs, and other OSHA agency functions, will cease for the duration of the shutdown.
Note, however, that although OSHA personnel can only respond to the specific situations noted in the contingency plan, the Agency will continue to monitor any formal complaint activity or outside referrals that could describe workplace conditions that may implicate the contingency plan. Even though a complaint or referral may not rise to one of the specified categories, OSHA may follow up on such notifications once the shutdown ends. It is therefore important to continue compliance with all applicable OSHA standards to your worksite(s) because while a shutdown curtails OSHA operations, it does not relieve an employer’s obligation to comply with the law.
About the Author
Peter Vassalo is a Senior Counsel in Littler’s Occupational Safety and Health Practice group where he counsels employers in all aspects of OSHA compliance as well as navigating OSHA complaints and inspections and resolving any subsequent OSHA citations. Prior to joining Littler, Peter served for nearly three decades with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Solicitor in the Division of Occupational Safety and Health as Counsel for Special Litigation, where he played a pivotal role in shaping federal occupational safety and health enforcement.