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Governor Paterson proposes to furlough most Executive Branch State employees one day per week until the 2010-2011 budget is passed

Governor Paterson proposes to furlough most Executive Branch State employees one day per week until the 2010-2011 budget is passed
Source: Office of the Governor

On April 27, 2010, Governor Paterson said he intends furlough most Executive Branch State employees one day each week ?during each weekly emergency appropriation bill period until a responsible final 2010-11 budget is passed.?

Under the Governor's proposal, State agency commissioners will be given the discretion to schedule their employees' one furlough day per week, beginning the week of May 10. Employees will not come to work on their furlough day and will not be paid for their furlough day.

The Governor?s announcement states that ?Employees would not be allowed to charge their leave accruals to offset this salary reduction and agencies would not be able to use overtime to make up for loss of productivity.?

The Budget Director is to designate positions providing direct care or certain security services as "essential" and the employees serving in those positions would not be furloughed.

Examples of ?essential? positions include: Correction Officer; Nurse; and State Trooper.

The Governor said that employees designated managerial or confidential within the meaning of the Taylor Law will not be subject to the furlough, ?since, unlike union employees, their scheduled general salary increase has been eliminated in each of the last two years.?

Randall Comments: Assuming without conceding that there is some authority for ?furloughing? state employees, the announcement is silent with respect to the impact of the Governor's proposal on state workers having an already ?scheduled absence? or other authorized leave with pay during any period during which any ?weekly emergency appropriation bills? are operative.

NYPPL's files contain the following courts decision dealing with furloughing public employees:

1. Suffolk County Ass'n of Mun. Employees, Inc. v. County of Suffolk, 147 Misc.2d 744, wherein the union sought a temporary restraining order to prevent Suffolk County from involuntarily furloughing or laying off union members. Here the union advanced two different theories: [a] Suffolk's ?failure to negotiate in good faith? and [b] Suffolk's ?attempt to breach the contract entered into between the parties.? The court decided that the union's action was premature in that the matter should either be referred to PERB with respect to the alleged ?failure to negotiate in good faith? or resolved through the contract grievance procedure with respect to the union's alleged ?breach of contract? claim;

2. CSEA Local 830 v Nassau County, 207 AD2d 589, wherein Nassau County and Local 830 negotiated a 5.5% wage increase and the County, claiming authority under the Management Rights Clause set out in the collective bargaining agreement, thereafter unilaterally decided that unit members would be "furloughed" from their jobs for one day in each of a number of payroll periods until the "payroll savings" were sufficient to offset the cost of the negotiated salary increase. PERB decided that it did not have jurisdiction to determine the dispute within the meaning of §205(5)(d) of the Civil Service Law;

3. CSEA and Patchogue-Medford UFSD, 28 PERB 3026, wherein CSEA charged the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District with an unfair labor practice when the District unilaterally furloughed its kindergarten, special education and other teacher aides without pay on a day when parent/teacher conferences were scheduled. PERB held that the relevant contract provision permitted the school district to furlough employees who were not required for work; and

4. In Local 870 and Deer Park Union Free School District, 28 PERB 3080, PERB held that a Taylor Law contract provision that allowed the employer to "change all existing rules and policies and/or institute new rules, regulations, orders and policies on any and all matters and subjects" except as provided in the Taylor Law agreement permitted the school district to unilaterally change the scheduling of employee vacation days or place employees on furloughs because the contract was silent with respect to scheduling vacations or furloughing employees.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on April 28, 2010 (boomark / email).