The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has called off its one-day furlough thanks to company savings that will help keep the agency open.
On Aug. 20, the EEOC announced that the company had saved enough money to avoid having to furlough employees for one day, Federal News Network reports. The change comes a few weeks after a July 30 announcement informed staffers that a furlough was possible due to budget constraints.
A flat budget for fiscal 2024, combined with a 5.2% pay raise and increased overall operating costs, was said to have caused the agency’s financial bind. But after making some changes and adjustments, through a combination of “aggressive financial management, limiting travel, rent credits and a hiring freeze,” the agency now says it was able to make up the difference.
“Through the combined efforts of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, EEOC’s senior leaders, and EEOC employees, the agency has accrued sufficient savings to eliminate the need for a furlough on Aug. 30,” Charlotte Burrows, chairwoman of the EEOC, said in a statement. “I am grateful to EEOC employees for their patience during this process and their continued dedication to protecting the civil rights of America’s workers.”
The canceled furlough follows the $455 million the EEOC received from Congress for the 2024 fiscal year after requesting $481 million. The agency warned it wouldn’t have enough to cover its payroll costs, which total around $1.3 million daily. Concerns were that the agency wouldn’t have enough money to make it through 2024.
EEOC workers are represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, which blamed Congress for the budget constraints.
“EEOC has been underfunded and understaffed for decades –- and now, with Congress freezing the agency’s budget at last year’s level, we are seeing the unfortunate result,” Council 216 President Rachel Shonfield wrote last month after the furlough was announced.
Government cutbacks were at the center of the issue. The EEOC requested $488.2 million for 2025, but House lawmakers reduced the budget to $420 million, $35 million less than the 2024 budget and $68 million below the requested budget. The Senate approved the White House’s request of $488 million for the EEOC’s 2025 budget.
The EEOC says that if it had been forced to furlough for one day, the move would have affected 2,300 employees.
