Civilian Furloughs Begin This Week At National Guard Camps and Groton Navy Base

By Elissa Bass

Sequestration, the word on everyone's lips a few months ago, is back in the news this week as one-day furloughs begin for about 600 technicians employed by the Connecticut National Guard and for 750 civilian employees at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton (which is more than half of the civilian force on the base).

The workers will have one unpaid day off each week between now and the end of the fiscal year, a total of 11 weeks. 

"The sub base furlough — which amounts to the equivalent of about 35 jobs in total number of hours — is larger than the cuts that would have led to the closing of six airport control towers; those closures were averted," reported the Hartford Courant in May, when the furloughs were announced. 

Also starting today are furloughs for National Guard technicians. The group includes human resources and finance specialists, legal clerks and aircraft maintainers.