The nation has been facing uncertainty since the government shutdown on Oct. 1, and Arkansas state agencies have furloughed nearly 250 employees as of last week, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a memo that if a program or employee has been identified by the federal government as being necessary to protect public health, safety or welfare, then it will stay open during the shutdown. Some agencies have been able to keep from furloughing employees using federal funding from current or previous federal grants.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences had moved about 20 employees, who work on research projects that are funded partially by the VA, to work solely on university research projects to ensure that they don’t have a salary lapse.
As of last Monday, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture did not have any furloughed employees. The same goes for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
Arkansas education officials are preparing for the effects of the shutdown as well, but as of last Tuesday, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro has seen no impact from the shutdown, campus officials told the Arkansas Advocate. Meanwhile, the University of Arkansas flagship campus in Fayetteville is preparing to have some employees furloughed if their positions are federally funded.
The Arkansas Department of Education still has sufficient funding for programs and salaries, the Advocate reported.
Last Wednesday, the IRS furloughed almost half its employees, over 34,000 people, due to the ongoing shutdown. In a memorandum sent to all employees, they were told that they were furloughed unless they received a specific notification that they were exempt from it.
The IRS will continue to work on implementing President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. The office will also continue to prepare for next year’s tax-filing season, but other operations will stop for now, including taxpayer services like call site operations. Non-automated tax collection and “most headquarters and administrative functions not related to the safety of life and protection of property” during non-filing season, according to Politico.
READ MORE: McKamey $1M Gift to Support Industrial Engineering at UA
