On Friday, the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco ruled that about 7,900 State Compensation Insurance Fund employees were illegally furloughed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) last year and are entitled to $25 million in back pay, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
In February 2009, Schwarzenegger ordered two monthly furlough days for about 200,000 state employees and added a third furlough day in July (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/13).
In Friday's decision, the court ruled that the state law that exempts workers' compensation employees from hiring freezes and staffing cuts also prohibits workweek reductions (AP/Sacramento Bee, 6/13).
The court endorsed a ruling made by another appellate court in March that found the governor illegally furloughed about 500 lawyers and hearing officers employed by the insurance fund. Friday's ruling applies to all insurance fund employees (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/13).
The state Supreme Court has agreed to review the legality of all of Schwarzenegger's furloughs (AP/Sacramento Bee, 6/13).