The Washington times., 1932-07-09
DDITIONAL FlRL OUCHS THREATEN FIVE DEPARTMENTS
GUT |NBUDGETS
. CREATES NEW
PROBLEMS
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(Continued from Page
ing with legislative compulsory
furloughs, and section 216 con-
cernins administrative furloughs
for each department to keep
them within their appropriations.
The councils report, recon-.
mending q general five-day week,
Il approved by the President,
means that beginning next week
most Government offices, will be
closed all day Saturday. The Gov
ernment Printing Office went on
O five-day week schedule today.
Some Federal offices, however,
rs in the mail service ana Gov
ernment hospitals, providing con.
tinuous services, cannot be closed
ali day Saturday, hence separate
arrangements are made IN the
councils plan for these furloughs.
A further point that looms
large today is the prospect that
in five departments-State, Jus
tice, Commerce, Labor and In.
terior-as well as in certain inde-
pendent offices. further admins
trative furloughs" Of as much as
q days in the year. in addition
to the furlough already provided
for. may be necessary to keep
within Congressional appropr1a'
tions.
Additional Leave Looms
The five-day week plan will
not be reIished by the Federal
employees. They are reconciled
to the loss of S.3 per cent OF
their pay. and to the loss Of their
annual leave with pay, but the
outlook that they will get cnly a
year.round succession Of week
ends is not particularly pleasant.
They want to take their en-
forced leave just as they would
nominaIly have taken their an.
nual leave, and Federal Employees
Union No. 2 has already adopted
resolutions to that effect.
Cut to Be Pro-rated
Mr.. McCarls rulings make one
thing definite, and that is that
the pay reduction will be pro-
rated through the year. with a
loss of one and a quarter days
pay each pay day.
Each day Of additional absence
will be charged up to the en-
ployes as a day and quarter,
Mr.. McCarl has decided.
Further points in his rulings
provide that no money saved by
the furlough plan can be used
for hiring additional help, but
must revert to the Treasury; that
the soie purpose Of the bill is to
promote economy in the Federal
service, and that ali other con-
SiderationS are secondary; and
that superannuated employees will
be retained until they have
served out the Is years necessary
to obtain retirement pay.
The council also worked out
plan which is expected to avert
wholesale discharges Of Govern.
ment employees. In five Federal
departments the appropriations
have been reduced 10 per cent.
The furlough plan provides for
only an 9.3 per cent pay cut.
The difference must be made up
somehow. and the idea at present
seems to be that instead Of
dismissing help, administrative
furloughS'' which may extend
up to AZ days will be insti-
tuted.
Minor points decided by the
McCarl rulings are that abroga-
ton Of annual leave rights does
not apply to sick leave, military
leave or quarantine leave: that
employees who have accrued leave
forfeit it at least for the time be-
ing, though possibly it may be
cla:meA in later years; that rural
mail carriers are not affected by
the suspension Of leave with pay,
and that House and Senate en-
ployes t. the S.3 per cent cut.
Postal employees have been d.
rected to take their furloughs in
the summer months, when busl-
ness is lightest. More rulings
from M Carl and further recon-
mendations of the council are On
the way.
Only yesterday the board of
Local No. 2, Federal Employees
Union, which is the departmental
local with 1000 membership,
adopted a resolution requesting
that salary reductions be made
direct, and The furlough be taken
optionally as leave has been taken
heretofore.