OPM: We'll Be (Mostly) Open During Shutdown

The Office of Personnel Management has released its contingency plan for operations during a shutdown. The plan says the agency will be able to continue many of its functions, even under a furlough situation caused by a lack of appropriated funds. According to the plan:

The majority of OPM's functions are funded by sources other than annual appropriations, and thus would continue during a Government shutdown caused by a lapse in appropriations. Indeed, four out of OPM's six core components perform functions that are funded through alternative sources: Retirement Services, Healthcare and Insurance, Federal Investigative Services, and Human Resources Solutions.

The vast majority of the employees working in the other two core components -- Employee Services and Merit System Accountability and Compliance (MSAC) -- perform functions that are funded from annually appropriated funds and would thus be furloughed. Furloughing these employees would mean that agencies and employees would not have access to OPM's expert guidance on HR matters that arise during a shutdown. In addition, OPM has planned a hiring fair for April 18 for approximately 850 finalists in the Presidential Management Fellows program. If there is a lapse in appropriations during that period, OPM would have to postpone the hiring fair, because agency representatives would not be available to interview the finalists.

The vast majority of the employees in the core agency infrastructure offices would also be furloughed. These include the Office of General Counsel, Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Communications and Public Liaison, Planning and Policy Analysis, Facilities, Security, and Contracting, Internal Oversight and Compliance, Executive Secretariat and Ombudsman, the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. On the other hand, a larger contingent of employees from the offices of the Chief Information Officer and Chief Financial Officer would need to continue to work during a shutdown ...