Federal public defender enacts furloughs

To make up for automatic spending cuts, the western Virginia federal public defender’s office is administering staff furloughs. Public defender Larry Shelton says that half of his staff based in Roanoke will be furloughed every other Friday.

Shelton must cut 5.5 percent from his budget by September 30th. He has been making progress by cutting employee hours to reduce pay. Government furloughs will reduce employee pay by around 10 percent. The furloughs began the week of April 1st.