LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council voted today to defer its planned furloughs of city employees until Jan. 17 and to reduce the number of furlough days they will have to take due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council essentially approved Mayor Eric Garcetti's agreement with 10 of the city's public employee unions to delay the furlough plans, and workers will have just one unpaid day off before the end of the year.
The council approved a plan last month to force more than 15,000 city workers to take one unpaid day off every two weeks, or a 10% pay cut, as part of a larger effort to balance the budget.
Garcetti and the city's bargaining committee earlier this month signed off on an alternative cost-cutting strategy that would eliminate all but one unpaid day off until at least January.
Under the new plan, a larger group of civilian workers would take a day off without pay on Nov. 3, which is Election Day, followed by a second unpaid day in April. Civilian employee unions also agreed to a yearlong delay of a planned payment of unused sick time, which is normally given to workers in January.
In exchange, thousands of civilian city employees would receive a new floating holiday for the fiscal year that ends on June 30, according to the proposal.
The mayor's office said the deal, which is aimed at saving $21.4 million, will give the city more time to determine if Congress will provide new financial help to cities reeling financially in the wake of the pandemic.
By January, city officials said they should know more about the city's deficit.
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