The 1st District Court of Appeal has issued a temporary stay in one of the three furlough cases the governor appealed on Monday. The stay means state workers will still be on furlough next Friday, April 2. The stay is temporary to allow more time for arguments on both sides. The governor has until this Friday to respond, and CASE must respond by April 7.

ACSS members: If you're planning to attend ACSS' quarterly board meeting in Las Vegas April 16-18, you have until Wednesday, March 31, to make your discounted hotel reservation. All Bally's hotel at 800-634-3434 and give them this code: SBACS0 (that’s a zero). You must be authorized by your chapter to have your expenses reimbursed.

SEIU Local 1000, the plaintiffs in the successful lawsuit to exempt non-general fund state workers from the furlough, has posted a list of the agencies that will be affected by the ruling.

The economy isn't rebounding yet, apparently. An Employment Development Department report says the state lost 20,400 jobs in February and the unemployment rate is still 12.5 percent. Read a Sacramento Bee report here.

A Sacramento Bee editorial calls for the end to the furloughs -- not June 30 but now. However, the same piece also urges state worker unions to agree to salary and benefit concessions.

Catching up: Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed Senate President Pro Tem Steinberg's bill, SB X8 29, to exempt from furloughs state workers whose jobs are funded no more than 5 percent from the general fund. Read Steinberg's response here. You can call Steinberg's office to support the Legislature's override of this veto at 916-651-4006.

CalPERS recently held two one-day forums examining the state of California's public pensions and analyzing ideas for ensuring future retirement security. The discussions addressed how to provide members with adequate and secure retirement benefits that are also affordable for employers. These discussions are now availble online. You can view them at http://www.calpersresponds.com/issues.php/California-Retirement-Dialogue.

CalPERS members' long-term care premiums are increasing this month. CalPERS, sensitive to the economic hard times for state workers, is offering options that will allow the members who want to save money to customize their plan, including decreasing benefit levels and reducing the benefit period . If you have questions about the increase, or to discuss the options, call a special toll-free number 888-877-4934 during working hours.

No surprise here: A Sacramento Bee analysis, reported on The State Worker blog this morning, reveals the average pay -- both base pay and total pay -- for state workers fell 5.4 percent last year. The pay for some job classifications fell as much at 6.4 percent.

Here are a few reports Judge Roesch's order that the furloughs end immediately for about 50,000 rank-and-file state workers. ACSS is researching the case to determine if the ruling also applies to supervisory workers. The governor says he will appeal the ruling to require the employees remain furloughed until June. Sacramento Bee: Senate President Pro Tem Steinberg agrees with the ruling. SEIU Local 1000: Ruling validated its position furloughs were illegal. San Diego/NBC: Ruling not a victory yet. Wall Street Journal: New headache for the governor, who helped close a budget shortfall with measures that included the furloughs.

Alameda Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch issued a tentative ruling this morning partially lifting the stay on the governor’s furlough order. The move will immediately end the furlough for tens of thousands of state workers in "special fund" departments. The judge stated he expects state workers to be at work on the next furlough Friday, April 2. The stay on reimbursing back pay has not been lifted. The lawsuit was filed by SEIU Local 1000, which represents rank-and-file state workers. ACSS Chief Counsel Rocco Paternoster is researching to determine if this order includes exempt employees. Read more here.

President Arlene Espinoza writes about Lobby Day and ACSS' political future in her newest Report.

Sacramento Bee political columnist Dan Walters writes that gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's proposal to eliminate 40,000 state jobs "wouldn't work." A recent Census Bureau report revealsCalifornia already has one of the lowest ratios of public workers.

The San Francisco Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision that Gov. Schwarzenegger illegally furloughed about 500 State Compensation Insurance Fund legal professionals. The ruling means the governor likely will lose a second appeal filed by SEIU Local 1000 on behalf of its members at SCIF. ACSS won the right for excluded employees to be included in the SEIU decision.

California Association of Psychiatric Technicians v. Schwarzenegger, challenging the legality of the furloughs,  will be heard at 10 a.m. today in Sacramento Superior Court. Also, it appears the unions are now supporting the govenor's request that all seven furlough cases now in appellate courts be consolidated. (from The State Worker)