DOL & HHS Provided Employees with Partisan Out-of-Office Messages During the Shutdown

The Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided employees with partisan out-of-office messages for use during the shutdown, the HHS language being mandatory according to CNN. NBC News reported that DOL encouraged employees to use partisan language blaming Democrats for the shutdown in their out of office email notices, providing them with a template for use. CNN reported that the language provided by HHS was mandatory: "The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed, meanwhile, that employees were instructed to blame Democrats for the shutdown in their out-of-office messages."