Furloughs are Back

A lot of California state employees are going to start getting more three-day weekends again.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports State worker furloughs are back on, for now

The state Supreme Court allowed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to resume unpaid furloughs of 144,000 state employees for three days a month, starting Friday, while it reviews his authority to do so.The justices on Wednesday suspended an Alameda County judge’s order last week that blocked the furloughs. Superior Court Judge Steven Brick had said there were serious questions about the governor’s power to cut employee workweeks on his own, and that the workers would suffer hardships from what amounts to a 15 percent pay cut.

The furloughs can now resume until the court decides the legality of Schwarzenegger’s orders last year that sidelined 200,000 state employees for three days a month through this June. That case, which involves similar issues, is scheduled to be argued in San Francisco on Sept. 8, with a ruling due within 90 days.

If the court finds the furloughs illegal, the state could be ordered to repay the workers more than $1 billion.

The previous furloughs have shuttered state agencies including the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Employment Development Department on the first three Fridays of each month.

Furloughs in August will take place Friday, next Friday and another day to be determined by each agency. They will continue until the Republican governor and the Democratic-controlled Legislature agree on a budget, said Aaron McLear, the governor’s spokesman.

“We have to do furloughs because we’re running out of cash,” McLear said.

The governor ordered the new round of furloughs in late July, claiming executive authority to cut costs while the state faces a $19 billion deficit.