WAYNE COUNTY, N.C. — North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley has sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for immediate action to end the federal government shutdown, warning that the impasse is jeopardizing workplace safety for millions of workers across the state.
Funding Crisis Threatens Safety Inspections
As the elected head of the NC Department of Labor, Commissioner Farley emphasized in his October 28 letter that his duty is to protect the health, safety, and well-being of over five million working men and women in North Carolina. He stated that Senate Democrats have made that mission more difficult by “shutting down the federal government and refusing to pass a clean continuing resolution.”
North Carolina operates under a U.S. Department of Labor-approved State Plan, which means workplace safety laws are enforced by the NCDOL rather than federal OSHA. However, approximately half of the funding for the state’s OSHA program comes from federal grants, which have been delayed due to the shutdown.
State Funds Being Depleted
The department received its last federal grant disbursement on September 30. Since then, NCDOL has been forced to use its limited reserve of state funds to cover the federal share of safety inspector salaries. According to Commissioner Farley, if the shutdown continues, the department will soon exhaust those resources and be forced to furlough safety inspectors.
“With fewer inspectors in the field, North Carolina’s workers—especially those in high-risk industries such as construction and manufacturing—will face greater danger on the job,” Farley wrote in the letter addressed to Senator Schumer’s Hart Senate Office Building office.
Political Standoff Puts Workers at Risk
In his letter, Commissioner Farley criticized what he characterized as partisan gamesmanship at the expense of North Carolina workers. “Senate Democrats once claimed to stand with working people. Today, they are playing political games at the expense of hardworking North Carolinians,” he stated.
The commissioner stressed that the shutdown represents not a theoretical concern but an immediate risk to worker safety in the Tar Heel State. “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,” Farley wrote.
Continued Monitoring
Commissioner Farley indicated that the NCDOL will continue to monitor the situation closely and take necessary steps to protect North Carolina’s workforce. The letter was also copied to President Donald J. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
The department oversees workplace safety for nearly four million workers across North Carolina, with particular focus on high-risk sectors including construction and manufacturing industries.
