Governor Schwarzenegger's Furloughs for Prison Guards Ruled a Violation of California Labor Law

Alameda, CAFurloughs for correctional officers that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had authorized earlier in the year have been labeled a violation of California labor law by an Alameda Superior Court judge.

The furloughs, which are unpaid work periods instituted as a means of controlling the Golden State's substantial deficit, were ruled illegal for reducing a state employee's pay without giving them time off.

Though the decision doesn't invalidate the governor's ability to order future furloughs, it does require the state to pay millions of dollars in back pay to employees affected by the process.

"We're thankful that the judge saw that this administration was clearly violating the wage laws of the state of California by requiring people to work for free," says Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, in a statement to Mercury News.

Unions are filing a similar lawsuit in San Francisco, alleging that the state also stands in violation of federal labor laws. This second suit seeks no compensatory damages, but would require the federal court to declare that the Schwarzenegger administration broke federal wage and hour laws.