80% of DHS staff will work during shutdown

If the government shuts down this week, most Department of Homeland Security employees will continue working.

DHS spokesman Larry Orluskie said 80 percent of the department’s 230,000 workforce will continue to carry out mission critical duties, such as securing the borders, screening cargo and airline passengers and operating and securing systems that support these activities.

“We’re working with the guidance, and we’re working with our business and mission partners to identify those systems that have to stay up,” said Richard Spires, DHS’ chief information officer. “We’re prepared, and we will keep those systems running.”

That includes determining which contracts are mission critical.

Communications between “excepted” and “non-excepted” employees will flow through a chain of command. For example, higher-level officials will contact the next in command and so on. Calls will go to personal phones if employees are required to turn in their government-issued phones.