Court Upholds Schwarzenegger's Order To Furlough Workers
SACRAMENTO (AP) — The California Supreme Court has upheld Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order to furlough state workers, dealing a major victory to part of the governor's budgeting plans.
The court issued its unanimous ruling Monday. It concluded that the state Legislature's 2009 budget legislation "validated the governor's furlough program."
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State employee unions have been challenging Schwarzenegger's order ever since he implemented two-day-a-month furloughs for more than 200,000 state workers in February 2009. He later expanded it to three days a month, which has translated to a pay cut of roughly 14 percent for government employees.
Schwarzenegger said the move was intended to save money as California faced a severe budget crisis, but his order prompted the filings of more than two dozen lawsuits.
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