A May 14 Department of Defense news release announced Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s directive that furloughs will begin for DoD civilians after July 8. Fort Stewart Public Affairs Officer Kevin Larson confirmed that civilian personnel managers at Stewart are preparing for the furloughs but noted that details had to be worked out locally.
“No one has gotten their letter notifying them that they’re being furloughed,” he said, referring to the May 14 memorandum that explains furlough-proposal notices being sent May 28-June 5 to individual employees subject to furlough. “It will depend on the employee’s job and the needs of the installation.”
Larson said specific details about the furloughs will have to be worked out by the local civilian-personnel office and department supervisors. He said the installation is preparing for each employee to be furloughed one day a week for 11 weeks. How the furloughs would be distributed within each department also has to be decided locally, he said.
According to the DoD memo, the furloughs will be imposed on every military department and DoD agency. However, civilians who are deployed to combat zones and those necessary to “protect life and property” will be exempted. Those employees who are notified must respond June 7-12, depending on when they received the proposal letter. Furlough decision letters are to be served to individual employees June 5-July 5, again depending on when the proposal letter was received.
Furloughs could begin after July 8 at a rate of one furlough day each week until the end of the fiscal year, or Sept. 30.