[author: Tanya Jeter]
When federal systems slow or stall, it can feel like the floor drops out from under your hiring process. E-Verify backlogs, federal record delays, and the ticking clock on background check data can leave even experienced HR teams wondering how to stay compliant without losing candidates.
If you manage background screening programs, you might already be fielding worried questions from hiring managers or recruiters: “Will we still be able to onboard people?” or “Do our checks expire after 30 days?”
At moments like this, it helps to zoom out and understand which parts of the process are the most important, what’s temporarily delayed versus genuinely at risk, and how to protect both your compliance posture and your candidate experience in the meantime.
Some verifications are moving slower, but the data isn’t vanishing, and your diligence isn’t undone. What matters now is clarity, knowing where the bottlenecks are, how long your data remains reliable, and how to keep your hiring operations steady until the systems behind them fully recover.
Overview
- What’s Impacted (and What Isn’t)
- Clarifying the “30-Day Rule”
- What HR Can Do Right Now
- Staying Ready When Systems Slow Down
- 2025 Government Shutdown FAQ
What’s Impacted (and What Isn’t)
Mitratech AssureHire background screening and other PBSA-accredited vendors are running many services without interruption.
Private databases, such as county court records, state repositories, education verifications, and professional licensing boards are still functioning. Delays are mostly appearing at the federal level, where operations rely on furloughed employees and paused funding.
Systems like PACER (used for federal criminal record searches) and certain exclusion lists may take longer to update or require manual record retrieval. The following federally-operated databases and systems are temporarily unavailable or unable to return updated records after October 1, 2025:
- Consent-Based SSN Verification (CBSV) – Unavailable for the duration of the shutdown.
- Excluded Parties List (EPLS/SAM.gov) – May not include data after October 1, 2025.
- Federal Civil (Single/National) – Reports may not include data after October 1, 2025.
- Federal Criminal (Single/National) – Reports may not include data after October 1, 2025.
- FMCSA Clearinghouse – No updates or query results after October 1, 2025.
- FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) – May not include data after October 1, 2025.
- Fraud Abuse Control Information System (FACIS) L1/L3 – Data may only be current through October 1, 2025.
- Professional License Verifications – Federal-level license databases may not include data after October 1, 2025.
E-Verify, the federal work eligibility system, briefly went offline earlier this month and is now back up, though with a temporary backlog.
How does the shutdown affect healthcare background checks, especially OIG and FACIS?
The healthcare industry is among the hardest hit by federal data interruptions. During the government shutdown, access to exclusion data from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and updates to the Fraud and Abuse Control Information System (FACIS) are paused. This means any new sanctions, exclusions, or disciplinary actions issued after October 1, 2025 aren’t currently reflected in reports.
Background checks that depend on these data sources will still return valid results through that date but won’t show the most recent updates until federal systems come back online.
For healthcare employers, this creates a compliance challenge:
- These checks are mandatory under OIG and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance.
- Skipping them isn’t an option, but acknowledging and documenting the gap is.
Here’s what you can do if you hire in these industries:
- Continue running OIG/FACIS checks, even if the data is only current through October 1st; documentation shows due diligence.
- Annotate reports and audit logs with “data current as of Oct. 1, 2025 – pending update upon federal restoration.”
- Schedule automatic rechecks once the systems resume to ensure full compliance coverage.
- Communicate proactively with compliance officers and auditors, showing awareness and documentation is far better than silence.
Don’t forget, your internal legal counsel or audit team can be an invaluable resource during this period. They can help interpret regulatory expectations, document your diligence, and ensure your compliance posture stays defensible while federal systems are down.
Clarifying the “30-Day Rule”
One of the most common misconceptions right now is that background check data “expires” after 30 days. It doesn’t. No law invalidates a report on day 31. What actually exists are employer-defined freshness standards, shaped by internal policy and industry norms.
The 30-day window is simply a best-practice buffer, a way to ensure reports reflect an up-to-date view of a candidate’s record at the time of hire. In highly regulated sectors such as federal contracting or healthcare, these standards matter, since auditors look for proof of diligence and timeliness. But they’re not universal, and they’re not mandated.
In short, the data doesn’t decay. It’s not a clock that runs out, it’s a question of judgment and documentation. You can decide when a recheck is warranted, based on risk and role.
Compliance Best Practices – What HR Can Do Right Now
It’s easy to feel like everything’s on hold right now, but it doesn’t have to be.
Here’s what experienced TA leaders are doing:
- Document everything – If a federal source is unavailable, record the attempted date, the database name (for example, PACER or E-Verify), and the reason for delay. When the check is re-run or completed, add that timestamp too. Documentation shows good faith and due diligence—two words auditors love.
- Don’t re-run everything – If your policy calls for “fresh” checks after 30 days, take a risk-based approach. For high-risk or regulated roles, re-pull criminal history or sanctions data. For lower-risk hires, a documented delay is often enough.
- Communicate openly with candidates – A simple, proactive message prevents anxiety: “Some federal databases are experiencing slowdowns due to the government shutdown. Your background check is complete on our side. If anything needs updating, we’ll handle it automatically. There’s no action required from you.” This kind of communication keeps candidates informed, shows professionalism, and builds trust when uncertainty is high.
- Strengthen your internal playbook – Use this moment to refine your standard operating procedures. Document how your team handles E-Verify outages, court closures, or other disruptions. Write a “Shutdown Mode” checklist now, so next time you’re ready instead of reactive.
- Ask smarter vendor questions – Skip the vague “Are you compliant?” and dig deeper. Their answers will reveal more about their real-world resilience than any polished SLA ever could:
- How do you manage data when a federal source is unavailable?
- Do you automatically flag reports that age past 30 days?
- Can specific elements, like criminal record checks, be refreshed without restarting the full process?
Staying Ready When Systems Slow Down
Again, the government shutdown may slow certain verifications, but it doesn’t have to derail your entire hiring program. The 30-day “rule” was never a countdown clock, it’s a guideline for maintaining quality and diligence. Stay organized, stay transparent, and keep hiring. The data will catch up, and when it does, your documentation will show you never missed a step.
At Mitratech, we’ve spent decades helping HR, compliance, and operations leaders simplify the complex and stay ready for moments like this. More than 28,000 organizations across 160 countries rely on our technology to keep hiring processes compliant, connected, and resilient, even when systems pause or policies shift. With tools like ARIESTM, our agentic AI that learns from real-world workflows, teams can move faster, anticipate risks sooner, and automate the compliance moments that matter most.
If the past few years have taught us anything, from remote work pivots to AI oversight to today’s federal slowdown, it’s that resilience and clarity matter more than ever. The teams that thrive aren’t the ones with the thickest binders or the most rigid playbooks; they’re the ones that stay grounded, communicate clearly, and adapt quickly when conditions change.
A temporary shutdown doesn’t invalidate your screening data or your diligence, it simply highlights where stronger documentation, communication, and vendor readiness can make all the difference. Fix those, and the next “shutdown” (whatever form it takes) won’t feel like as much of a crisis.
If you’d like to talk through how to keep your background checks moving or benchmark your process against best practices, contact us. I’m happy to share what we’re seeing and how teams are staying ahead.
2025 Government Shutdown FAQ
Is E-Verify currently available?
Yes, E-Verify is currently available. With the federal funding lapse, E-Verify was offline from October 1, 2025 – October 8, 2025, but it’s back up now.
Does the E-Verify outage count against TNC resolution days?
No, DHS stated that the days during which E-Verify was unavailable don’t count toward the time window employees have to begin resolving TNCs.
Does the shutdown suspend Form I-9 requirements?
No, the government shutdown doesn’t suspend Form I-9 requirements. Employers must still complete Form I-9 for all new hires within three business days of start, using authorized document review methods (in-person or remote, where eligible).
Can we take adverse action against an employee whose E-Verify case is in interim status due to shutdown?
No. Employers may not take negative employment actions on a case in interim status that was caused by system unavailability during the shutdown.
Does the shutdown affect background checks outside of E-Verify (criminal, credit, education)?
Generally, no. Private, state, and local data sources continue operating. Only federal-level data sources (e.g., federal court records, certain exclusion lists) may see delays.
Which services are currently affected by the U.S. government shutdown?
Several federally operated databases and systems are temporarily unavailable or unable to return updated records after October 1, 2025.
These include:
- Consent-Based SSN Verification (CBSV) – Unavailable for the duration of the shutdown.
- Excluded Parties List (EPLS/SAM.gov) – May not include data after October 1, 2025.
- Federal Civil (Single/National) – Reports may not include data after October 1, 2025.
- Federal Criminal (Single/National) – Reports may not include data after October 1, 2025.
- FMCSA Clearinghouse – No updates or query results after October 1, 2025.
- FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) – May not include data after October 1, 2025.
- Fraud Abuse Control Information System (FACIS) L1/L3 – Data may only be current through October 1, 2025.
- Professional License Verifications – Federal-level license databases may not include data after October 1, 2025.
If a background check is older than 30 days because of the outage, is it invalid?
No, a background check isn’t automatically invalid after 30 days. The “30-day” guideline is an employer policy, not a legal expiration. Data doesn’t automatically “expire.” However, organizations should assess risk and possibly re-pull critical elements (criminal, sanctions) depending on role.
How should we communicate with candidates about delays?
Be straightforward and calm. Example message: “Due to federal system outages, some verification steps may be delayed. We’ve completed the parts we can, and will finish any outstanding checks as soon as the system is back online. No action is needed from you.”
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