In February 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger required California state workers to take two furlough days a month. The furlough was increased to three days a month for Fiscal Year 2009– 2010. Thirty-six furlough days a year is equivalent to a 13.8 percent reduction in salary. The furloughs were put in place as part of a broader response to California’s severe budget crisis. Drawing on standard economic theory and empirical research we find that the furloughs are a particularly inefficient method of addressing the budget deficit.  Read more on this report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center