Unpaid leave for 13K at Ohio base begins in July

Unpaid leave for 13,000 civilian workers at Ohio's Wright-Patterson air base to begin in July

Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- About 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio's largest military installation will be forced to take 11 days of unpaid leave beginning in July.

Col. Cassie Barlow, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, made that announcement Tuesday at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton.

Each of the 13,000 civilian employees will be on one day of furlough per week beginning July 8 until they reach 11 total days. The unpaid leave is the result of automatic defense budget cuts.

Barlow says the development is "good news" because the Department of Defense's 800,000 civilian employees had originally faced 22 days of furlough.

She says the furloughs "have always been a measure of last resort" and that Wright-Patterson will try to help its employees as much as possible through the process.