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Nearly 100 furloughed govt workers retain jobs for now
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Posted on Apr 14 2008
Some government employees who were to be furloughed last Saturday have had their contracts renewed for about 60 days.
Press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said almost 100 of the approximately 150 employees on Saipan will be able keep their jobs until June 7, 2008. He could not say what happened to the workers on Tinian and Rota.
A total of 350 workers were to be laid off on April 12, 2008 due to lack of government funds.
However, some contracts were renewed for a limited time after the Governor’s Office and the Department of Finance “found some way to accommodate them,” Reyes said.
The new contracts also include a provision cutting work hours by eight hours every two-week period. This is equivalent to a 10-percent salary deduction.
Reyes said the work hours could be reduced further, if necessary.
All the affected workers are hired under contracts outside the civil service system. The administration can cut their salaries and work hours without the Legislature approving it.
About 397 workers were originally to be furloughed effective Dec. 22, 2007. Since then, the government has renewed their contract for 30- or 60-day periods.
At one point, the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation passed a law appropriating $1.2 million for the Saipan workers. This would have covered half of the amount needed to keep all 157 Saipan employees on the payroll through Sept. 30, 2008.
But it is not clear whether the money was actually used to pay the Saipan workers.
The law, which sourced the money from local poker license fees, did not indicate what positions should be funded with the appropriation. Moreover, one lawmaker has said the plan may be illegal, as the government is operating on a continuing resolution and must spend resources only under the guidelines set by the fiscal year 2007 budget.
