SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District began issuing furlough notification letters May 31 to 301 of its nearly 1,100 civilian employees located in Central and Northern California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
Affected employees will be furloughed one day per week for 11 weeks beginning the week of July 8, in accordance with Department of Defense furlough guidance. The furlough is a day of unpaid leave. DoD determined this measure was necessary as a result of sequestration cuts that took effect in March. Exemptions to the furlough were granted for a number of exceptions, including for civilians funded by civil works appropriations, who are the majority of the Sacramento District employees. Employees whose funding comes from military sources are not exempt.
“We are doing everything we can to minimize the impacts of this furlough to our employees and our projects,” said Col. Bill Leady, commander of the Sacramento District, “but this is a 20-percent cut in pay for 11 weeks for many of our employees, and that’s something they will feel very personally.”
Leady said the district plans to reduce or postpone requirements that can be delayed until after the furlough in an effort to minimize the impact to project execution, though not all impacts can be avoided.
The Sacramento District is one of the largest districts in the Corps, covering all or part of eight western states, with missions in civil works, military construction, regulatory permitting, environmental cleanup, and emergency operations.
Release no. 13-036