Education Department auto-replies blamed Democrats for shutdown, reports say

Automated out-of-office responses from Department of Education employees on furlough included partisan language blaming Democrats for the government shutdown [nytimes.com#3]. Americans interacting with federal agencies this week encountered similar partisan messaging in routine communications [abcnews.go.com#1]. Some government workers said their auto-replies were changed without their consent to include the blame [reddit.com#2].

Highlights:

• Scope reported: Americans encountered partisan messaging across multiple federal agencies during routine interactions this week [abcnews.go.com#1].
• Education emails: At the Education Department, automated out-of-office replies from furloughed staff cast blame on Democrats for the shutdown [nytimes.com#3].
• Employee accounts: Some workers said their out-of-office replies were forcibly altered to add political language [reddit.com#2].
• Furlough context: Because employees are furloughed during the shutdown, automated replies were sent instead of direct responses [nytimes.com#3].

Sources:

• At federal agencies, political messages fault Democrats for the shutdown – abcnews.go.com
• Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown – reddit.com
• Partisan Language Inserted Into Education Dept. Workers’ Automated Emails – nytimes.com