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Kansas Department Of Labor Cancels Worker Furloughs

The Kansas Department of Labor is ending most of the furloughs it imposed on employees because of the federal government's partial shutdown.

Gov. Brownback's office says it will not put others on unpaid leave, either.

The governor's spokeswoman Eileen Hawley says the administration will tap the state's cash reserves to maintain staffing for the state program that provides benefits to unemployed workers.

Those benefits represent the bulk of the department's current $473 million annual budget. Most of the department's salaries and operations are financed with federal funds. Last week, the agency announced that it was furloughing 66 employees, most of them in Topeka.

On Thursday, the department said all but seven would return to their jobs.

The governor directed the department to cancel plans for furloughing another 119 employees Friday so that unemployment checks can still be processed.

Hawley says the state can keep the program operating because its cash reserves are now about $430 million dollars.

The Department of Labor expects to reimburse the state treasury once federal funds are freed again.