The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will not furlough its workforce on Aug. 30 as the agency previously warned might happen, it said Tuesday.
The commission in late July told employees it was considering the single-day furlough as it was on track for a budget overrun, pointing to increased costs including an unfunded, mandatory 5.2% pay raise. The agency said its daily payroll is an estimated $1.3 million.
EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows said in a statement Tuesday that the commission accrued enough savings to avoid the furlough. The agency’s communications director, Victor Chen, said EEOC did so through aggressive financial management and cooperation from all agency components to maximize efficiencies — specifically, limiting travel, leveraging existing investments in technology and obtaining rent credits. It also continued a hiring freeze, realizing savings through attrition, Chen said.
The notice of the potential furlough came three weeks ago and was a step required by an agreement with the employees’ union.
That organization, the American Federation of Government Employees, previously called on Congress to provide the agency additional funding as the commission often receives more charges in a year than it resolves. But AFGE also suggested in July that EEOC cut down on physical office space and increase remote work flexibility as a way to reduce expenses. The union declined to comment about the rescinded furlough notice.
