LIVERMORE PUTTING OFF FURLOUGH DECISION UNTIL JUNE

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is again putting off a decision to implement a salary reduction/closure day policy to deal with the impact of a large budget shortfall, and the laboratory will wait until June before implementing any budget-cutting measures, lab Director Parney Albright said in a recent message to employees. Albright said the lab is still analyzing the impacts of sequestration cuts and the full-year Continuing Resolution, and is also waiting for the release of President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request to make any decisions. Albright also said lab management would look at FY 2013 indirect budgets for “additional savings to lessen the impact of any needed closure on employees.” Albright has previously said that to address what was once estimated to be a $120 million shortfall, the lab would turn to temporary 10 percent salary reductions and bi-weekly closure days for full-time employees. Those closure days would come every other Friday, when the lab would operate similar to how it runs on a weekend. The exact amount of the shortfall currently facing the lab is uncertain, but it is believed to be approximately $70 million.