BUENA VISTA -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine says his latest plan to balance the budget includes an unpaid day off for many state employees.
In ordering worker furloughs to save millions of dollars, Kaine is following the lead of other states as well as the private sector.
Without providing details, Kaine told the Richmond Times-Dispatch yesterday that "essential" employees, such as those at public-safety and emergency agencies, would be exempt.
The state's largest public-workers group, the Virginia Governmental Employees Association, has been discussing the plan with the Kaine administration.
"VGEA's priority is to protect jobs and benefits, but we recognize the need for a shared sacrifice," said R. Ronald Jordan, executive director of the 18,000-member organization.
Kaine, who leaves office in January, must close another hole in Virginia's budget -- this time, about $1.5 billion -- and today will outline his plan to do so.
Since the economic decline began accelerating in early 2007, Kaine and the General Assembly have pruned state spending by about $6 billion.
Earlier budget-balancing plans have included thousands of layoffs, and an unpaid day off may be a buffer against even deeper cuts in the work force.
Kaine provided a glimpse of the plan during a brief interview as he worked the crowd during the Buena Vista Labor Day parade, the kickoff event of the fall political season.
Kaine said he could not provide a precise figure for how much money the day-off plan would generate.
Within the Kaine administration, officials apparently have been discussing steps under which agencies and employees would have flexibility in reducing worker hours and -- by extension -- pay.
A provision in the state personnel act known as "Q status" allows the government to trim hours to 32 per week while preserving jobs and benefits, such as insurance and pensions.
That eight-hour reduction could be carried out in a variety of ways -- for example, in a single day off, or over several days or a week.
Technically, such time off is not considered a furlough. That's because under the personnel act, a furlough requires that an employee leave the state payroll. Such a move is accompanied by loss of benefits.
Across the country, cash-strapped states are closing agencies temporarily and suspending workers to offset dramatic declines in tax revenue.
In Maryland, for example, many agencies were closed this past Friday -- the first of five furlough days for state workers.
In Colorado, many government offices will be dark today. With the extralong Labor Day weekend, workers can knock off one of four furlough days.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.
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