State judge blocks Lingle furlough plan

HONOLULU (AP) - A state judge has blocked Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle from forcing public employees to take three unpaid days off per month.

First Circuit Court Judge Karl K. Sakamoto issued a preliminary injunction Thursday. He ruled that the governor's failure to bargain with unions denied them their constitutional rights.

The monthly furloughs were to start this month.

Three state employee unions said the plan would cut the salaries of more than 15,000 employees by about 14 percent.

Attorney General Mark Bennett told the court Lingle has the right to furlough employees to relieve the state's more-than $730 million budget deficit over the next two years.