Judge Temporarily Blocks Gov.'s Furloughs for State Employees

On Monday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Steven Brick temporarily halted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's R recent furlough order, ruling that "serious questions" exist about the legality of unpaid time off for state workers, the Sacramento Bee reports. Brick said that allowing the furloughs to continue before a scheduled Sept. 13 court hearing could cause major harm. - Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 8/10.

A spokesperson for Schwarzenegger said the governor plans to appeal the ruling as early as Tuesday. -  Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times, 8/9.

If the appeal does not overturn the ruling, the judge's decision would cancel four furlough days between now and Sept. 13.

Background on Furloughs

On July 28, Schwarzenegger reinstated the furlough program to reduce state spending and combat California's $19 billion budget deficit. The furloughs were expected to affect about 144,000 state workers.The furlough order would not have applied to employees who either work for an exempted agency or belong to one of six state worker unions that have reached a labor deal with the Schwarzenegger administration Sacramento Bee, 8/10. The Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents 1,800 state employees, is one of the labor groups exempt from the order California Healthline, 7/29.Legal Status of Previous FurloughsLast year, Schwarzenegger ordered state workers to take furlough days between February 2009 and June 2010 to address a major budget deficit.

Next month, the California Supreme Court is slated to consider challenges to the previous furlough order (Los Angeles Times, 8/9).

via Judge Temporarily Blocks Gov.'s Furloughs for State Employees - California Healthline.

Furloughs are better than layoffs.