Yeah, it happens. Our HR department is about as inept as they come, and it wouldn't surprise me if they did something like this. In fact, after they gave me the green light to make an offer to a candidate a few months ago, and I made the offer and the candidate accepted, they then told me the position hadn't been "approved" by all the necessary people, and I had to withdraw the offer! All of this came about only after 2 weeks of them dithering around with the candidate's paperwork. I was absolutely mortified at having to call the candidate and withdraw the offer, you can't even imagine. Fortunately, the candidate was unemployed at the time, so she had not given notice at her job or anything like that - but she may have passed up opportunities to interview elsewhere, who knows.
Anyway, it's not uncommon for HR people to drag their feet. Your husband should call the hiring manager on Monday to check in, ask if there is any additional information he can provide, etc. Just a friendly call - and hopefully the hiring manager will light a fire under the HR girl. Good luck.