The first furlough notices have gone out to government workers, telling them that they will have to take one unpaid day per week from April 22 through September 21. According to CNNMoney.com on March 5, these furloughs will apply to nearly a million federal employees.
Employees are permitted some flexibility – they can choose whether they want to stay home on a Monday or a Friday, depending on their particular situation. But they are not permitted to make up the salary reduction by using sick or vacation pay. In other words, they are all being forced into a 20% salary cut.
Congress balked at solving the sequestration problem, claiming that the cuts won’t be that severe, that they will hardly be felt. Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of employees who are now facing these unpaid furloughs.
It’s hard to imagine someone who would NOT be affected by a 20% pay cut.
The Defense Department is the hardest hit by this forced budget cut. Its 800,000 civilian employees will be forced to take 22 unpaid days.
Other government divisions may not be hit so hard. The IRS has assured its employees that they will not have to endure more than 7unpaid days.
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