Judge hopes to rule on state furloughs by Friday

ALBANY - A federal judge here Wednesday said he hopes to decide by Friday whether Gov. David A. Paterson can furlough 100,000 unionized state employees to help close the budget deficit.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn temporarily blocked the furlough plan, which was to go into effect on May 17. State workers would have been required to stay home one day per week without pay until a state budget is in place. Kahn also ordered Paterson to begin paying the 4 percent raise owed to some workers since April 1.

After lawyers for Paterson and four state-employee unions sparred for an hour in federal court Wednesday, Kahn said, "I'd like to get a decision out in the next few days because people want to move on."

New York hasn't furloughed workers in modern history. Paterson's plan is an attempt to pressure unions into granting $250 million in concessions to help close the $9.2-billion deficit.

On Long Island, about 11,600 workers could be impacted, mainly at Stony Brook University and other SUNY campuses.

A lawyer for United University Professions, which represents 32,000 SUNY employees, said in court Wednesday that furloughs violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against states adopting laws that interfere with contract obligations.

UUP's Richard Casagrande also accused Paterson aides of refusing to meet with the union before pursuing furloughs. A Paterson spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lawyers for the two largest unions, the Civil Service Employees Association and Public Employees Federation, questioned the severity of New York's financial problems and Paterson's response.

"What's happening here is an ad hoc, crazy quilt situation, where the governor says, 'What am I going to do today ,' " said CSEA's Timothy Connick. "This is not a carefully crafted plan."

Jeffrey Dvorin, an assistant attorney general representing Paterson, scoffed at attempts to minimize the cash crunch. He recalled the spending cuts and delays in aid to schools and local governments so New York wouldn't run out of money.

"The crisis is more severe because it's a cash crisis," he said. "The proposed actions are reasonable and necessary."

Dvorin also warned the judge that blocking furloughs permanently would undermine the ability of state leaders to grapple with future crises. "The state certainly acknowledges the furlough plan will cause hardship to some state employees . . . but the state's solvency and the entire state's interests should take precedence."