Arnold loses one, wins one on furloughs
By Josh Richman
Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 11:54 am in Arnold Schwarzenegger, state budget.
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s smackdown by an Alameda County Superior Court judge over salary cuts for correctional officers in the form of unpaid furlough time that many actually can’t take off, the Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today is crowing over his victory in another furlough-related case, this one filed in San Francisco on behalf of CalPERS workers.
“Government Code sections 19851 and 19849 give the Executive broad authority to control the work week,” the ruling says, adding there’s no showing that the governor’s executive orders on the furloughs exceeded his powers. “The Governor acted reasonably in furloughing all employees to save funds and preserve parity.”
“The governor’s authority to furlough state workers is clear, and this is another ruling in our favor,” Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola said a few minutes ago. “As California families and businesses are forced to cut back in today’s economy, the governor does not believe state workers should be shielded from the same economic realities.”
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December 18th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
What’s the difference between the two cases? I’m as upset as anybody about bloated bureaucracies, public employee unions, outrageous retiree benefits and the like. However, it seems to me that if you mandate a furlough (which the guv should have complete authority to do), you have to let the employees actually take the time off.
December 18th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
You are correct, John W.