Nearly three weeks into the federal government shutdown, EPA has sent what appears to be its largest round of furlough notices yet to employees.
The agency, operating on leftover funds, has kept its doors open during the funding lapse. Yet as that cash dwindles, staff will have to go without paychecks until the shutdown is resolved.
Furlough notices are “widespread” across the agency, including a large percentage of staffers in EPA’s air and water offices, except for those working on permitting, according to Nicole Cantello, a union leader who represents EPA employees in the agency’s Chicago regional office.
Furloughs have also been sent out across the Office of Land and Emergency Management and its regional counterparts, but not employees working on Superfund, Cantello said. Also affected are EPA employees in offices tied to enforcement, administrative work and IT, and the agency’s laboratories, as well as regional counsel, she said.
