Walker Starts Layoff Process

Some 1,500 Wisconsin residents may not have slept so well last night. Gov. Scott Walker yesterday set the ball in motion to lay off a horde of state employees by sending letters to state employee unions alerting them that the workers would receive layoff notices in 15 days. The actual layoff date will be in a month—unless, of course, Walker's "budget repair" bill passes, reports the Washington Post. And if it doesn't, the number could balloon to as many 12,000 public employees, he warns.

"While these notices start the process needed to [lay off] state employees, if the Senate Democrats come back to Wisconsin, these notices may be able to be rescinded and layoffs avoided," read a statement from the governor's office. (More Wisconsin stories.)