The decision to furlough state employees during the financial crises of recent years may have saved money in the short term but will leave a big bill down the road, the California legislature's budget advisors said on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. The state will owe $1 billion extra to many workers when they retire or quit, for vacation time that went unused while they were being forced to take unpaid days off. The furloughs were intended to save $5 billion from February 2009 to July 2013, effectively cutting workers' pay 5 to 14 percent. The $1 billion for unused vacation—some in excess of state accrual limits—will eat into those savings, according to a report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
