NORTH CAROLINA — With the federal shutdown approaching its month mark, the North Carolina Department of Labor commissioner has entered the fray, prompting the Senate Minority Leader for action that will resume government operations and prevent NCDOL from temporary layoffs.
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Republican Luke Farley sent a letter to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (NY), carbon copying President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. In it, Farley details the state department depends on grant funding from the feds to continue paying some of its inspectors.
“With the last grant disbursement having arrived on Sept. 30, NCDOL has been forced to cover federal salary costs for safety inspectors from its limited reserve of state funds,” Farley wrote, referring to the government shutdown. “Continued delay means inspectors could soon be furloughed — putting workers, particularly in high-risk industries such as construction and manufacturing, at increased danger on the job.”
Farley’s plea to Schumer comes in his role to oversee the health, safety and well-being of the roughly 5 million workers in North Carolina, he said. The NCDOL focuses on workplace safety requirements for public and private institutions, as well as inspects elevators and amusement rides, and enforces wage laws.
It operates under a U.S. Department of Labor-approved state plan, thus meaning workplace safety is enforced by the NCDOL rather than federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA. However, the feds cover half its funding.
“If the shutdown continues, we will exhaust our resources,” Farley wrote, referring to state reserves.
USDOL has already furloughed employees due to the shutdown and roughly 950 are mandated to work without a paycheck, according to Politico.
Gov. Josh Stein noted in mid-October that many North Carolina state agencies have been working to minimize furloughs and disruptions particularly when it comes to federally funded positions. Around 80,000 federal workers live in the state.
“But that will become more difficult as the shutdown persists,” Stein said in a release, urging both parties reach a compromise.
The government shutdown has been underway since Oct. 1 due to a budget standoff among Democrats and Republicans. Democratic senators have not voted on a budget due to cuts on Medicaid and tax credits sunsetting on insurance premiums by the end of the year. The concern is if the credits don’t get picked up, premiums will double, triple or more, leaving upward of 11 million Americans without subsidized Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage or losing health insurance altogether.
Democrats have indicated they won’t budge unless Republicans negotiate on these requests.
“We are in a health care crisis and Republicans don’t even want to talk about how to fix it,” Senate Minority Leader Schumer said Tuesday, after another vote failed 54-45, with 60 needed to pass.
The Democrats have voted down the bill 13 times in the last month. Republican Farley asked Schumer in his letter, dated Oct. 28, to pass “a clean continuing resolution,” referring to a spending bill without riders or stipulations.
Farley — formerly a construction and OSHA attorney with Ellis & Winters LLP — won the NCDOL commissioner seat last year and told the News & Observer ahead of 2024’s election there weren’t enough inspectors as is in the department. A 2023 report noted roughly one safety officer existed per county; there are 100 counties in North Carolina.
“We cannot inspect our way to safety — there just aren’t enough inspectors,” Farley said last fall to N&O. “Instead, the Labor Department should focus on inspecting willful and repeat violators and helping small businesses meet their compliance burden. Our small businesses are struggling and need all the help they can get.”
Upon being elected, the commissioner implemented a recruitment plan, aspired to cut inspection wait times and expand on other programs, such as recognition to help retain employees. By October 2025, the vacancy rate for compliance safety and health officers dropped below 10% — the lowest in a decade — while it was above 20% in January 2025. Farley implemented pay raises for veteran employees and increased salaries for new inspectors.
In his letter to Schumer, Farley described the Democrats as “playing political games” while endangering people in North Carolina.
“Senate Democrats once claimed to stand with working people,” he wrote. “Every day this shutdown continues, the risk to our workers increases. It’s time to end the federal shutdown and put American workers first again.”
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