OLYMPIA, WA – Staff at the Washington attorney general’s office argue a furlough will just mean unpaid hours because the agency’s work has to get done.

They say about $20 million in proposed budget cuts and furloughs will hurt consumer protection, antitrust and civil rights cases as well as litigation against the Trump administration.

Assistant attorneys general and professional staff, like paralegals and legal assistants, briefly walked off the job Thursday from offices across Washington.

In Tumwater, a handful of workers joined the lunchtime walkout.

Eric Nelson, who has been an assistant attorney general for 24 years, encouraged lawmakers to “look under the hood of this agency before they start to tear out the engine.”

With a staff of over 1,800 employees, the attorney general’s office represents state agencies in litigation, enforces consumer protection violations, proposes state legislation, occasionally prosecutes crimes, and pursues civil commitments for sex offenders, among other duties.

“Do they not want us to prosecute sexually violent predators?” asked Paul DesJardien, who has been with the attorney general’s office for nearly a decade.

This year, the office has also made headlines over lawsuits filed against President Donald Trump on several issues.

In a letter this week, members of the assistant attorneys general union pleaded with lawmakers to maintain the agency’s funding. They say it is counterintuitive to cut their budget when some of their litigation brings in money to the state’s coffers, like cases against opioid manufacturers and distributors. The attorneys also argue it could heighten the state’s liability risk.

And with the Trump administration halting the Department of Justice’s civil rights work, it makes the job of state attorneys all the more important, they note.

“Diminishing the AGO’s resources will have far-reaching consequences that would outweigh any immediate financial savings and the dire impacts that could ensue,” the letter reads.

In a statement, Attorney General Nick Brown said he hopes lawmakers “can balance the budget without furloughing state workers and cutting funding to vital programs that Washingtonians depend on.”

Democrats in the state House and Senate expect to release their budget proposals Monday. How far lawmakers will go including furloughs in their plans remains to be seen.

New governor proposes cuts to his former office

Facing a budget shortfall he estimated at $15 billion over the next four years — and that could be closer to $16 billion after the latest revenue forecast — Gov. Bob Ferguson asked most state agencies to find 6% in budget cuts.

The governor’s request exempted public safety agencies, like the state Department of Corrections and Washington State Patrol. But the governor still eyed his old office for cuts.

Ferguson’s proposed $7 billion in budget savings, released late last month, included one-day-a-month furloughs for most state employees for the next two years and the elimination of about 1,000 full-time positions.

Specific to the attorney general’s office, the governor’s plan would cut $12 million for legal costs associated with federal litigation that former Gov. Jay Inslee included in his final budget proposal. Ferguson’s proposal would also slash about $5.9 million for various programs and nearly $1.6 million to modernize the office’s system for data tracking on homicide and sexual assault investigations.

Additionally, Ferguson said in his inaugural address he wanted to sweep $35 million from the attorney general’s office and move the money to the general fund, an idea that drew swift pushback from Brown, his successor. That budget maneuver is still a possibility.

The furlough idea, estimated to save $300 million across state government, has drawn ardent opposition from public employee unions who feel like the weight of filling the operating budget shortfall unfairly rests on their shoulders. On Monday, workers blasted the proposal in a rally at the state Capitol.

Ferguson said in a statement Thursday that he appreciated “the important work performed by all state workers.”

“I value their feedback on our budget situation, and welcome any thoughts they have on how we can close the $16 billion budget shortfall I’ve inherited as a new governor,” he added.

Republicans have proposed an alternative path. Under their budget plan, state employees would get a one-time, $5,000 bonus in lieu of honoring new collective bargaining agreements that include wage hikes. Ferguson’s plan would let those union contracts take effect.

Alexander Sieg noted the attorney general’s office underwent furloughs during the pandemic. He still had to work on his time off “because the job still has to get done.”

Sieg handles child welfare cases, some of the most taxing the office works on. “If we don’t do the work, then kids die,” he said.

Since the beginning of his term, Ferguson has been skeptical of new taxes to help solve the budget shortfall. A sign at Thursday’s walkout quoted him saying “we cannot tax our way out of this problem.”

“I beg to differ Bob,” the sign retorts.

The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.