Georgia Senators Float Idea Of Making State Employees Work For Less

As lawmakers began Tuesday to consider a 14% reduction in next year’s state budget due to declines in tax revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s already clear that $3.5 billion or more in budget cuts will lead to lots of furloughs.

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With the prospect that reduced money is likely to mean reduced services, a couple of Georgia state senators are wondering whether state employees could be made to do the same work for less money.

Typically, agencies furlough workers when they cut salaries. Being sent home without pay doesn’t lessen the financial sting, but it does lessen the amount of work that employees are asked to do.

As lawmakers began Tuesday to consider a 14% reduction in next year’s state budget due to declines in tax revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s already clear that $3.5 billion or more in budget cuts will lead to lots of furloughs.