Layoffs and Furloughs Soon To Hit OC Prosecutors & Investigators

Tight times at the DA's office

​Folks aren't buying products and services like they used to and the impact of dwindling government sales tax revenues is about to be felt hard inside the local agency charged with putting criminals in prison.

In an interview this morning, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that a $3.1 million budget gap in the current fiscal year is forcing him this month to begin furloughing his deputy prosecutors and laying off investigators. 

Under the plan, prosecutors will have 13 furlough days--essentially every third Wednesday of the month (except for December, when they'll be two furlough days). The DA says he must also "temporarily lay off" rotating groups of his investigators for a total of nine days.

"I don't like to do this," said Rackauckas. "It's not pleasant. It's not fun. But the money is just not there. What do you do?"

For the union representing Orange County deputy district attorneys as well as public defenders, the answer to Rackauckas' question is simple: find other cost-saving measures but don't furlough prosecutors.

"This furlough idea puts unnecessary limitations on the amount of work prosecutors can do," said Scott Van Camp, treasurer of the Orange County Attorney's Association (OCAA) and a veteran public defender. "That may not be the politically correct thing for me to say, given where I work. But the truth is that I don't believe people in this county, especially victims of crime, want their prosecutors told on certain weekdays that they won't be allowed to work. What they do is just too important to the criminal justice system."

After hearing rumors in July of potential furloughs, OCAA officials presented Rackauckas with a series a counter proposals they claim would save the DA more than $1.4 million, the amount of the agency's $3.1 million shortfall attributed to prosecutors' salaries and benefits. (The other portion of the $3.1 gap applies to other wings of the DA's office, including the bureau of investigations.) Those proposals included forgoing overtime and special pay, agreeing not to cash out annual unpaid leave and giving up optional benefits. Union officials say they don't believe Rackauckas carefully considered their options and understands the potential negative impacts of his decision.

The DA disagrees, saying he personally spent half of July considering the OCAA alternatives.

"I thought several of their items were good ideas and I recalculated the numbers and offered to reduce the number of furlough days to just five," Rackauckas said. "But the union told me it was all or nothing. In fact, they wanted to explore the idea of employee layoffs with me. They asked me how many people might have to be laid off without any furlough days. I don't know because that's the last thing I want to do."

Van Camp say the furlough plan has unintended consequences.

"Actually, I believe under Rackauckas' plan he's going to have to pay the prosecutors for working more than 40-hour weeks and he's never had to do that in the past," said Van Camp.

The DA doesn't see the union making any concession.

"I'm not planning to pay any extra overtime anyway," he said. 

Though the furlough days equal a five percent pay cut for the prosecutors, their union says the greatest concern isn't about money but rather public safety.

"The deputy DA's don't like the furlough plan because they believe they have an obligation to obtain justice for the people of Orange County," said Van Camp. "That obligation frequently requires them to work more than 40 hours a week, and they want to be able to work more than that when it's necessary."