State Employees Facing Harsh Reality of Furloughs

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The on-going budget battle has taken a toll on state workers who are being forced to take furloughs. Many state employees said they are struggling to make ends meet, and they're bracing for the likelihood that things could get much worse.

Carol Miller is a 14-year veteran of the state, seven of which she spent at the office of juvenile affairs preparing reports on the state's troubled kids, but for the past eight months, she has spent less time on the job because of mandated furlough days.

"I've been through some bad times before, but never this bad, so I really don't understand it," Miller said.

Miller is a single mom who doesn't receive child support and has tackled her problem head-on by working part-time as a cashier to make up for the financial shortfall.

"I don't understand why I have to work a part-time job to make it when I'm doing such a service to the state," Miller said.

It's the new normal many state employees are facing including OJA Supervisor Jennifer Thatcher. She also said she is working part-time at a department store after being sent her home two days every month without pay.

"That's about $300 out of my paycheck, so I'm feeling it really big," Thatcher said.

Thatcher said she is also a bit frustrated watching the budget negotiations move at a snail's pace with no end in sight.

"You don't want them to have to go to another session. That's going to cost more money. That's going to reduce the funds that will be dispersed to the different agencies," Thatcher said.

OJA was one of the first agencies to furlough employees back in October when the state started cutting monthly allocations to agencies by 5 percent. Now it's 10 percent and furloughs are pretty much routine, and it will likely be that way for the foreseeable future as the $1 billion budget gap shows no signs of closing.

"And then I'm looking at myself, and that means am I going to have to do a third furlough day?" Thatcher said.

And there may be a little bit of relief in sight at least for OJA. The executive director suspended furloughs for the next two months just to give employees a little bit of a break.