Layoffs of O.C. social service workers delayed until Jan. 5

Layoff notices originally scheduled to go out Monday to more than 200 Orange County social service workers -- the biggest staff reduction in years -- have been delayed until Jan. 5, county and union officials said.

But the two sides of the labor dispute disagree on how and why the pink slips were pushed into 2009. The union claims sole responsibility for the change, saying that it wanted the bad news delivered after the holidays. A county spokeswoman described the postponement as a “mutual agreement” intended to bypass the holiday season and try to match laid-off county employees with other county jobs.

“It’s a rough situation,” Orange County spokeswoman Pat Markley said.

Some 212 social workers, welfare eligibility workers and welfare fraud investigators are slated to lose their jobs primarily because of a steep drop in state funding. In addition, about 4,000 employees of the county social services agency must take two weeks off without pay beginning in February.

In a meeting with a state mediator Monday, county and union officials tried unsuccessfully to reduce the number of job losses and suggested alternative cost-cutting measures. Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Assn., criticized the county for refusing to pare car allowances and other perks to avoid job cuts.

“These layoffs are every American’s nightmare,” said Berardino, whose union represents 13,500 workers. “It’s not that we don’t understand that we in the public sector are going to be struggling with layoffs. . . . [But] the executives are raking in the money and the perks while they are laying off lower-paid workers.”

The impending layoffs are the biggest staff cuts in Orange County since its 1994 bankruptcy; additionally, the county plans to lay off about 60 Probation Department employees early next year. County human resources officials will determine which employees lose their jobs based on seniority and performance.

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susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com