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Just Hours Remain for Kansas Lawmakers To Avoid State Employee Furloughs

Stephen Koranda
/
KPR/File photo

The clock is ticking for thousands of state workers as they wait to see if Kansas lawmakers can pass a state budget. Non-essential state employees will be furloughed without pay beginning Sunday, if legislators haven’t finished work by then on a state budget.

Adrienne Landry, a University of Kansas employee who will be home without pay if there’s no budget agreement, says she's thankful she now lives in a dual-income household.

“And that’s such a huge relief because this time a few years ago I was a single-income household so something like this would have been truly devastating,” Landry says.

Lawmakers could choose to retroactively pay state employees if there are furloughs.

State employees may be eligible for unemployment benefits if lawmakers choose not to pay them for furloughed days, but only if they’re off work for more than a week.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.