Hearing Today On Furlough Suit

Union members suing to block the furlough of state employees in Kentucky will be in court late this afternoon in Frankfort.In a May special session, Kentucky lawmakers gave Gov. Beshear the green light to furlough state workers to help balance the budget. Soon thereafter, Beshear ordered both merit and non-merit employees to take six furlough days this fiscal year to save the state $24 million.“I don’t like furloughs myself, but we’re having to take that action in order to avoid firing about 400 state employees. I think they understand that, and we’ll work through those issues,” he said.But a half-dozen state employees, all members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are suing to block the furloughs. They fear furloughs, especially in state prisons, could jeopardize public safety.