Appeals court rules Schwarzenegger had right to furlough workers in constitutional offices

Sacramento Bee ^ | 8/31/11 | Denny Walsh

[SmithL]

The two-day-a-month unpaid furloughs of state executive branch workers ordered in 2008 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger legally applied to employees of California's elected constitutional officers, an appellate court in Sacramento ruled Tuesday.

Applying the furlough order to the staffs of constitutional officers "does not violate the California Constitution's system of divided executive authority or impermissibly interfere with (the officers') statutory right to control the staffing and management of their respective offices," a three-justice panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal declared in a 47-page opinion.

Schwarzenegger resorted to furloughs as a cost-saving device in the face of an overwhelming budget deficit.

State Controller John Chiang refused to apply the furlough order to about 16,000 workers in government branches headed by officials elected by statewide vote.

The controller, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction and members of the Board of Equalization appealed a 2009 mandate by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette that Chiang comply with the governor's order.

[eyeamok]

in other words, thousands of public employees received improper and illegal payments, they should be required to immediately pay back every last penny with interest. Actually the controller should also be held liable for any and all costs regarding his ILLEGAL PAYMENTS to Public Employees, thats the way it works in the real world (private sector)

[pacpam]

Chiang was and is a political hack. The court had already ruled against his defiance and he yet he refused the next time to follow the same directive from the Gov. Too bad he doesn’t lose his job over it.