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JBSA Civilian Personnel Could Be Indefinitely Furloughed

Eileen Pace
/
TPR News

Joint Base San Antonio continues to watch the action in Washington, D.C., preparing for the possibility that civilian workers will be staying home from work the rest of the week.

With no fiscal 2014 budget and no continuing resolution, it was touch-and-go whether thousands of active-duty military personnel would be paid. But the Senate passed a bill late Monday providing for pay for military members.

However, Joint Base San Antonio spokesman Brent Boller said support personnel -- 23,000 JBSA civilian employees -- may be looking at skipping their paychecks for a long time.

“The plan right now is for civilians to come in as usual and the majority will sign furlough letters and go home until this is resolved in some way,” Boller said. 

That could mean civilians going back to their jobs if the shutdown is short-lived. Boller said civilian activities will cease except in areas of national security or those that concern protection of life or property. He said dining facilities, child care centers, and the fitness centers across JBSA will remain open.

NOTE:  Furloughed employees may immediately apply for unemployment benefits with the Texas Workforce Commission. Information can be found at: www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/bnfts/unemployment-benefits-contacts.html#teleCenterPhoneNumberAndHours

Eileen Pace is a veteran radio and print journalist with a long history of investigative and feature reporting in San Antonio and Houston, earning more than 50 awards for investigative reporting, documentaries, long-form series, features, sports stories, outstanding anchoring and best use of sound.