Beyond that it will take many months of painstaking review to know how deeply any one contract is likely to be cut. Sequestration could be expected to result in layoffs or reductions in force for about half a million of those employees. But because of the uncertainty that we are likely to continue to face with respect to which contract will be affected and by how much, layoff notices may likely be sent to several times that number of people. Perhaps the greatest uncertainty exists with respect to how sequestration will impact the federal work-force.
In some instances agency personnel may be integrated into agency contract spending or grant disbursements. In those instances it may be possible to protect needed staff by applying a disproportionate reduction to grants and contracts. But in many critical activities of the federal government, the entire budget of an activity is for the salaries and expenses of the workforce. An example I have used repeatedly is the Food Safety Inspection Service but there are hundreds if not thousands of other agencies throughout the government with the same problem.
For instance, since the modernization of the equipment used in air traffic control is likely to be ruled a separate activity from personnel expenditures required to operate the system, the Federal Aviation Administration will likely be forced to make very substantial reductions in the payroll expenditures for air traffic controllers.
The same situation exists with respect to agents and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service auditors, Social Security Administration personnel, and so forth. There are several methods by which these payroll savings may be accomplished.
One would be a reduction in force—a formal process by which an employee is terminated from the payroll of an agency. Since the sequestration could theoretically last for multiple years, this might seem like a sensible course for many agencies to take.
An RIF initiated in the second quarter of a fiscal year is likely to produce little or no savings in that fiscal year. Budget officers at these and other agencies, however, believe that they have found a way around this through the massive use of furloughs, or the temporary layoff of employees.
Since the 8. If every employee in an agency were furloughed for 4. But what about the cost of implementing this massive and perhaps intermittent schedule of furloughs? The Office of Personnel Management told me that they know of no analysis that has been performed anywhere inside the government estimating such costs, which in fact might be very significant. Anyone familiar with the administrative and human resource challenges associated with layoffs—and in this instance repeated layoffs—recognize that they require significant amounts of planning, coordination, and communication.
Further, each employee that is furloughed has certain rights under federal law to appeal the furlough and the cost of reviewing the appeal could be substantial. Obviously, the more costs associated with furloughs, the more weeks of furlough that will be required to meet the sequestration mandate.
And if they don't, cuts that may seem drastic right now will seem minor. On March 27, the Continuing Resolution that funds the discretionary operations of the federal government runs out. As Slate noted recently, "When that happens, it's lights out—quite literally. There are some exceptions for emergency personnel and entitlement programs think Medicare [sic] keep functioning, but when the CR expires, the government shuts down.
All 'non-essential' federal employees are put on furlough, and programs simply stop functioning. Visa and passport applications won't be processed. Nor will new applications for disability benefits. Regulatory agencies will take a break. The deadline isn't actually March 27, either. Congress has scheduled a two-week Easter Recess for March 22, so lawmakers will need to work out a solution before they leave town.
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Officer: Ahmaud Arbery would have received trespass warning 1 hour ago. In the weeks leading up to March 1, agencies across government have painted increasingly dire pictures of life under sequestration. Along with hiring freezes, spending reductions, and curtailed travel and training, many agencies are planning for furloughs.
Have more information about how agencies plan to implement furloughs and other cost-cutting measures? Or, do you have information about an agency not on this list? Click here to email us and let us know. Insight by Galvanize: Federal News Network surveyed six agencies about their approach to risk management, including the use of cloud services, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and other technologies.
After initially planning for furloughs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce announced Friday, May 31, that furloughs at the agency would be cancelled. UPDATE: Customs and Border Protection officials have postponed the issuing of furlough notices to 60, employees because of new funding granted in the appropriations bill. Read more: All News. DoD reduced the number of days it required its civilian workforce to be furloughed from 14 to 11 in July, and expanded its list of employees who are exempt from the cash-saving measure.
The agency originally had planned for 22 furlough days. The military services and defense agencies have already instituted civilian hiring freezes and cut spending on travel, training and supplies. Employees paid by non-appropriated funds were not expected to be furloughed. Other employees exempt from furloughs included: civilians deployed in combat zones, DoD civilians working on sexual-assault prevention, foreign nationals, Senate-confirmed political employees and civilians who are required to maintain safety of life or property.
While military pay will be unaffected by sequestration, DoD said readiness and training would suffer. Want to stay up to date with the latest federal news and information from all your devices? Download the revamped Federal News Network app. Over two phases of furloughs, EPA employees were forced to take a total of 47 hours off.
During phase one, EPA employees took 32 furlough hours. Phase two originally scheduled EPA employees to take 47 furlough hours off, but the agency reduced that number to With this final elimination, EPA employees have been furloughed for about 15 hours during phase two.
EPA also put a hold on discretionary monetary awards for employees and other incentives, but the agency will be able to offer time off awards and quality step increases, albeit under a constrained budget.
In March, HUD announced it would furlough all 9, of its employees for seven days between May and August to offset automatic budget cuts due to sequestration. The original seven furlough dates were scheduled for May 10 and 24; June 14; July 5 and 22; and Aug.
After taking three furlough days, the National Park Service announced May 24 that it was canceling the remaining furlough days for U. Park Police employees. Thanks to cost-cutting measures, the agency already canceled the furlough day scheduled for July Back in April, IRS announced its plans to furlough all of its 90, employees on five specific furlough days through the end of August. Earlier, Holder said would postpone until mid-April a decision about whether to furlough any Justice Department employees.
Office of Personnel Management officials have, so far, made no plans to furlough employees. OPM has implemented a hiring freeze and will seek other operational and administrative cost reductions to avoid furloughs. Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy has taken steps to curtail spending, including reducing travel and conference spending, filling only one of every two new job vacancies and adjusting building temperatures.
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