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October 9, 2013

2,739 state workers in shutdown crosshairs

The state has temporarily laid off 56 people at a Department of Health and Human Services office in Winthrop in response to the shutdown of the federal government and similar measures for other state workers could be on the way.

The Portland Press Herald reported that 22% of the state’s workers, or 2,739 employees, have jobs that are fully or partially funded by the federal government. The paper reported that state departments are bracing for a prolonged shutdown, particularly for agencies like the Department of Labor, which is 97% federally funded and employs 500 people.

Sawin Millett, the governor’s finance chief, told the paper that state agencies are now trying to figure out if they can and should pay some employees’ salaries with state money and just how long that can last. Millett said that determination is based partly on federal assurances that the state will be reimbursed, an assurance he said state officials did not have Tuesday for the workers in Winthrop.

The departments most vulnerable to cuts are the DHHS, DOL and Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management.

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