部分政府关闭对成千上万的人产生了重大影响，甚至对背景调查过程以及人力资源的其他领域产生了深远的影响。虽然权宜之计结束了美国历史上最长的政府停摆，但再次停摆的威胁依然存在：据引述总统的话说，他可能会在 2 月 15 日再次关闭政府。以下是人力资源专业人员 35 天面临的问题——并且可能再次面临。
有备无患是预先警告。
I-9 和电子验证
当政府关闭时，使组织能够验证新员工工作资格的在线系统 E-Verify 变得不可用。最近在 12 月开始关闭时，E-Verify 网站的用户收到了一条通知，上面写着：“注意：由于联邦资金失效，该网站将不会得到积极管理。E-Verify 和 E-Verify 服务不可用。” 雇主无法访问该系统，也不能：
注册电子验证
开一个新案例
查看或对任何情况采取行动
添加、删除或编辑用户帐户
更改密码
其他功能和服务，包括网络研讨会、电子邮件和电话支持，以及解决暂定未确认 (TNC) 也被关闭。
为了减轻雇主的负担，管理 E-Verify 的美国公民及移民服务局 (USCIS) 暂停了创建 E-Verify 案件的三天规则，并延长了员工解决跨国公司所需的天数。
但请注意，I-9 表格的要求不受影响。组织仍然必须在员工开始领取薪水后的第三个工作日内完成 I-9 表格，并遵守有关 I-9 表格的所有其他规定。
如果再次关闭，HireRight 将通知并更新其客户影响我们服务交付的任何更改。
削弱求职者通过背景调查的能力
在停工期间，背景调查本身也受到影响。虽然联邦关闭意味着超过 800,000 名政府工作人员无法领到薪水，但它也威胁到其他政府实体以及与受影响机构有业务往来的私营公司的众多工作人员。
如果不进行联邦背景调查，包括北卡罗来纳州格林斯博罗在内的市政当局无法正式雇用新员工。这影响了警察、消防员、救生员和其他部门。
考虑一下联邦雇员，他在没有薪水的情况下努力维持生计，试图找到另一份工作并需要通过简单的背景调查。如果他们以前的雇主——联邦政府机构——被关闭，则无法核实以前的工作。也无法检查参考文献。自去年 12 月关闭以来，消费者报告机构（如 HireRight）在申请人无法提供 W2 文件时将其转介到的 IRS 网站已无法使用，以获取就业验证的成绩单。
正如 1 月 22 日《纽约时报》报道的那样，没有工作可做的联邦雇员为 Uber 或 Lyft 寻找收入、代课、保姆或任何其他“临时工作或副业”。使斗争更加艰难的是，联邦工作人员“在等待政府关门时可以从事的工作类型有限。根据联邦规定，任何与员工专业领域相关的事情都不太可能被允许，因为可能与政府工作相冲突的工作需要获得批准。”
不仅联邦雇员受到影响
虽然一旦关闭结束，联邦雇员将获得薪水损失的补偿，但承包商可能不会。大约有四百万联邦合同工，是联邦文职雇员人数的两倍。这些人的确切人数很难计算，因为政府没有保留他们的记录，而且公司出于竞争原因往往不愿谈论合同工作。服务占联邦合同金额的 80%，在这一部分中，保安人员占最大的群体。
在撰写本文时，已达成协议将政府重新开放三周——直到 2 月 15 日——以便预算谈判可以继续进行。在该日期之后，尚不确定哪些政府实体将运作。可以肯定的是，雇主和雇员都会很高兴恢复正常营业。如果另一次停工生效，组织可能会考虑对其招聘和背景调查流程的影响，并做出相应的计划。
he may shut down the government again on February 15. Here is what HR professionals faced for 35 days – and may face again.
Forearmed is forewarned.
I-9 and E-Verify
When the government shut downs, E-Verify, the online system that enables organizations to verify a new hire’s eligibility to work, becomes unavailable. When the recent shutdown began in December, users of E-Verify’s website received a notice that read, “NOTICE: Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed. E-Verify and E-Verify services are unavailable.” Employers had no access to the system and could not:
Enroll in E-Verify
Open a new case
See or take action on any case
Add, delete or edit a user account
Change passwords
Other functions and services including webinars, email and telephone support, and resolving Tentative Noncomfirmations (TNCs) were also down.
To ease the burden on employers, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which governs E-Verify, suspended the three-day rule for creating E-Verify cases, and extended the number of days an employee needs to resolve TNCs.
Note however that requirements for Form I-9 were not affected. Organizations still had to complete a Form I-9 no later than the third business day after an employee started work for pay, and comply with all other regulations regarding Form I-9.
In the event another shutdown occurs, HireRight will notify and update its customers of any changes impacting our service delivery.
Learn More About Form 1-9 and E-Verify
Impairing the Ability for Job Seekers to Pass Background Checks
Background checks themselves are also being affected during shutdowns. And while a federal shutdown, meant missed paychecks for more than 800,000 government workers, it also threatened a multitude of workers in other government entities as well as private companies that do business with affected agencies.
Municipalities, including Greensboro, North Carolina, could not officially hire new employees without conducting federal background checks. This impacted police, firefighters, lifeguards and other departments.
Consider the federal employee who, struggling to make ends meet without a paycheck, tried to get another job and needed to pass a simple background check. Previous employment could not be verified if their previous employer – the federal government agency – is shut down. Nor could references be checked. The IRS website to which Consumer Reporting Agencies such as HireRight refer applicants to obtain transcripts for employment verification when they are unable to provide W2 documentation was not functional since the shutdown began in December.
As reported in the January 22 New York Times, federal employees with no job to go to sought income working for Uber or Lyft, substitute teaching, babysitting, or any number of other “improvised jobs or side hustles.” Making the struggle even harder was the fact that Federal workers “are limited in the type of work they can take as they wait out the shutdown. Anything connected to an employee’s area of expertise is unlikely to be allowed under federal rules, which require approval for jobs that could conflict with government work.”
Not just Federal Employees are being Affected
While federal employees will be compensated for lost paychecks once the shutdown ends, contractors may not be. And there are approximately four million federal contract workers, twice the number of federal civilian employees. The exact number of those individuals is difficult to calculate since the government does not maintain records on them and companies are often reluctant to talk about contract work for competitive reasons. Services make up 80% of federal contract dollars and within this segment, security guards comprise the largest group.
As of this writing, there is an agreement to re-open the government for three weeks–until February 15–so budget negotiations can continue. Beyond that date, it’s uncertain which government entities will be operational. What is certain is that employers and employees alike will be glad to get back to business as usual. If another shutdown goes into effect, organizations may consider the impact on their hiring and background check processes, and plan accordingly.
