Civilian employees of the Defense Department now face 14 days of possible furlough under budget cuts brought forth by sequestration, instead of 21. In making the announcement of the delay, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also stated that no furloughs would begin before mid- to late-June. The more than 700,000 civilian employees will begin receiving furlough notices sometime in May. Furloughs will take pace during seven two-week pay periods through the end of September, when fiscal year 2013 concludes. During that time, employees could expect to be told not to work for two days during each of those pay periods. The Defense Department was able to curtail the furloughs because Congress approved a defense-spending bill that negated $6 billion in cuts. Even with the additional funds, Hagel said the department still faces a $22 billion budgetary shortfall for operations and maintenance.
