Yesterday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) declared a financial state of emergency and ordered three monthly furlough days for more than 150,000 state workers, reported the Los Angeles Times.
The furloughs are scheduled to begin the second Friday in August and will end when lawmakers pass a budget or when administration officials decide the state has enough funds to provide full salaries to workers. Estimates are that the furloughs will reduce state payroll spending by about $147.2 million monthly.
Exemptions from the governor’s furlough order
For nearly 73,000 employees who work for an exempted agency, there will be no furlough. The same is true for members of any labor union that made a previous deal with the Schwarzenegger administration. This includes the Union of American Physicians and Dentists with about 1,800 state members. Other unions -- including the Service Employees International Union -- have yet to reach a labor contract agreement with the governor (Sacramento Bee, 7/29/10).
Overtime may be large part of budget problem
What is most shocking about the furlough news is that many state employees actually made up their losses by working overtime (Los Angeles Times, 3/6/10). Take the case of Nellie Larot, a prison nurse, who took a $10,000 cut in salary to $92,000; still quite a handsome income by many people’s standards.
However, Ms. Larot easily made up for her small loss by working extra shifts. That resulted in $177,512 in overtime pay, according to state records. Ultimately, she ended up earning $270,000 last year, more than Matthew Cate, head of the entire state prison system, who only earned $225,000.
Impact to state employers living in Los Angeles
Obviously if you’re an unemployed job seeker in the Los Angeles area, regardless of whether certain positions are being furloughed or not, it seems to make sense to apply for state jobs. Yes, the California economy is rocky right now, but that could easily be said about many local and state governments.
In reality the worst that could happen for a job seeker who landed a position with the state, would be to wind up furloughed or maybe even laid off. However, given the potential financial rewards, it’s probably worth the risk.
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