FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Civilian employees of the Army Reserve began furloughs today, beginning a period of 11 weeks of involuntarily furloughs without pay for nearly all civilian employees of the Department of Defense.
The furloughs will affect about 11,000 Army Reserve civilian employees and will cost them 20 percent of their gross pay until the end of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Less than 20 Army Reserve civilian personnel that have been granted exceptions to the furloughs.
The furloughs are a result of the sequestration law, which mandates DOD budget cuts over the next 10 years. The Army Reserve must cut $292 million from its operating budget this year. The furloughs will account for $35 million of those cuts.
The Army Reserve has worked over the past several months to prepare its employees for the furloughs, holding several informational meetings and providing financial planning classes to civilian employees, designed to help them plan for a reduced budget at home and to connect them with any resources they may be eligible for.
