Driven by sequestration budget cuts, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced May 14 that civilian Defense Department employees each can expect to be furloughed for 11 days between July 8 and Sept. 30, when fiscal year 2013 ends. Employees likely will serve one furlough day per week. Because of sequestration, Hagel said, the department’s operation and maintenance accounts are funded at $30 billion less than normal. Payroll, readiness, and response to global contingencies all come out of the operation and maintenance account. Civilian employees who serve either permanently or temporarily in combat zones will be exempt from furloughs. "If our budgetary situation permits us to end furloughs early, I would strongly prefer to do so," Hagel said. "That is a decision I will make later in the year."
