Federal Shutdown Affects Select Fleets

The federal government shutdown, now entering its 19^th day, has shut down various federal agencies. According to the New York Times, it is affecting about 800,000 federal employees.

As for fleets, some are highly affected while others aren’t affected at all, said Gary Hatfield, CFFM, associate vice president of Mercury Associates and the consulting group’s federal fleet expert. The Department of Defense fleets and the Postal Service are not affected. The executive agencies affected are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation, and Treasury, he said.

“The degree of impact varies, but so-called ‘mission-critical’ operations must continue to be supported even if the agency is largely shut down, so fleet operations must continue to function and employees are required to work without pay. Others are furloughed, or placed on temporary leave,” he added.

Federal fleets are not the only ones affected by the shutdown. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has paused the regulation of vehicle recalls, and will not post updates on its website until the end of the shutdown.

Editor's Note: This story was updated Jan. 10 with information about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.