CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / ORANGE COUNTY
County officials began handing out termination notices Monday to 210 social services employees whose jobs were eliminated because of a recession-related drop in tax revenue.
Among those let go were social workers assigned to child and elder abuse cases, and eligibility technicians who process claims for public assistance, said TerryLynn Fisher, spokeswoman for the Social Services Agency.
Orange County’s Board of Supervisors authorized the job reductions last month because of an anticipated $20-million drop this year in state funding. Many of the services the county provides are paid for by the state.
Workers were taken aside and told that their last day on the job will be Jan. 19, Fisher said.
The layoffs have been met with stiff resistance from employee unions, who have argued that the county should search elsewhere for cuts.
Union officials have criticized plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on remodeling the supervisors’ offices and on executive perks.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
