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Posts tagged: layoffs
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is being sued by five former workers who say they were laid off because they were closer to retirement and had higher wages than their colleagues. The workers, all from north-central Idaho and eastern Washington, filed the age discrimination lawsuit in Lewiston, Idaho's 2nd District Court. The Lewiston Tribune reports that the workers say they were among 126 employees laid off last year amid budget cuts and office closures around the state, and that the department selected older employees for the layoffs. Juanita Hatke, Judi Lupinacci and Candace Maurer of Lewiston, Patricia Wilkinson of Kamiah and Barbara Swearingen of Clarkston, Wash. are asking for damages in an amount to be proven at trial. They are represented by Lewiston attorney Scott Chapman.
Dozens of Idaho state employees lost their jobs in the past month as a result of midyear state budget holdbacks imposed in late September, and more cuts are coming. Gov. Butch Otter’s decision to impose varying budget cuts at different agencies meant some were hit harder than others with layoffs. Agencies facing 7.5 percent cuts included the Department of Water Resources, which laid off 19 workers this month; the Department of Environmental Quality, which let 10 people go and imposed additional furloughs on all remaining employees; the Department of Parks and Recreation, which cut its seasonal staff by 25 percent; and the Department of Lands, which laid off three people in Boise and one in Coeur d’Alene, on top of four range managers it laid off in July.
“It’s tough times for everybody,” said Lands Department Director George Bacon. “Although we’re feeling pain, others have felt worse.” Click below to read more.
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