A government shutdown seems more likely now than the near misses of earlier this year.

Many prognosticators are putting the odds at 50-50 but leaning toward a shutdown. The government has estimated that 800,000 government employees will be sent home if it happens.

For contractors, the picture isn’t quite as clear. They have options on how to keep working even if are locked out of customer sites.

 

“We’ve been preparing for this for over a month,” one executive told me.

 

The big question of whether contractors work or not depends on several factors.

The first is whether the customer is exempt. An exempt customer means the contractor keeps working as normal. Another executive told me his company created teams that included operations, finance, legal, human resources and contracts. The teams then are putting work into four categories:

A second factor is where the money is coming from. If it is 2010 money, work can continue but invoices may get paid late, according to Alan Chvotkin of the Professional Services Council. If the work depends on money coming out of 2011 funds, work stops.

 

"If we have a contract and a statement of work and we aren't on a government site, we've got to show up for work," an executive told me.

 

A third factor relies on company policy. Workers can be shifted to other work that will continue during a shutdown. That likely will not take care of most workers, and some companies may require employees to take paid time off rather than laying off workers. Read Full Article