First Batch Of MN Worker Layoff Notices Delayed

ST. PAUL (AP) - About 800 state workers who were expecting layoff notices this week in preparation for a possible state government shutdown are getting a nine-day reprieve.

The Minnesota Management and Budget office says it reached an agreement with the Minnesota Law Enforcement Association to delay layoff notices that were to be sent Wednesday to State Patrol troopers, conservation officers, and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officers.

Instead the notices will go out on June 10, the same day they'll be sent to another roughly 35,000 state employees.

The layoffs will come if a new two-year state budget is not in place by July 1, though some employees will likely be deemed essential. The shutdown is looming thanks to an impasse between Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative majorities over taxes and spending.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)