BROADCAST MESSAGE
TO: All DOT Employees
FROM: Ray LaHood
SUBJECT: IMPORTANT UPDATE ON DOT FURLOUGHS
I want to give you an update on the furlough of certain employees at the U.S. Department of Transportation that will begin on Monday, March 1.
The authority for spending funds from the Highway Trust Fund expires today, February 28, 2010. The Congress has adjourned and it is unlikely to resolve this issue before Monday morning.
As a result, the Department of Transportation will furlough nearly 2,000 employees without pay beginning Monday, March 1. I very much regret the hardship that this will cause to those employees and their families.
Furloughs will affect employees at the following agencies: the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
All employees at the Department of Transportation, including those who work in one of the four modes listed above, should report for work Monday morning as they normally would unless given specific alternate instructions.
DOT employees who do NOT work in one of these four modes are NOT affected and should follow their normal routines.
The Department is monitoring this situation very closely and is making every effort to identify potential solutions as quickly as possible. In the meantime, employees can go to www.dot.gov or call the number listed below for their respective agencies for important updates.
Thank you for your patience as we work through this unfortunate situation. I am hopeful that all DOT employees will soon be able to get back to work fulfilling the important mission of the Department.