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Pa. halting pay for 9,000 state workers

Pennsylvania will stop paying about 9,000 state workers whose offices have been closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday.

Paid leave for state employees whose work locations are closed and who are unable to work remotely will end April 10, according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s Office of Administration.

The pay freeze affects about 12% of the state workforce, though individual agencies were hit much harder, with the state departments of Transportation and Revenue halting pay to more than half their employees.

About 5,700 of the affected workers are employed by PennDOT. About 900 work for the Department of Labor and Industry, about 850 work for Revenue, and the remainder are scattered across other agencies.

The frozen Labor and Industry positions are not associated with the state’s unemployment compensation program, which has been overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of claims, officials said.

State workers can use paid vacation days, sick leave or compensatory time to continue to receive a paycheck. Otherwise, they will be eligible to apply for unemployment, officials said. The state will continue to provide health and life insurance benefits.

In Westmoreland County, Commissioner Sean Kertes told news organizations that nearly 500 county employees will be furloughed after Friday, with benefits.

In other coronavirus developments Friday:

Meek Mill’s masks

Philadelphia-based rapper Meek Mill’s criminal justice reform group is donating 100,000 face masks to some of the nation’s most notorious jails and prisons.

The celebrity-backed REFORM Alliance announced the donation Friday. It said 50,000 masks will go to the Rikers Island jail complex in New York City, 40,000 will be sent to the Tennessee Department of Correction, and 5,000 are headed to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

The group, whose founding members include Jay-Z, has been pressing the nation’s jails and prisons to thin their inmate populations, improve sanitation, protect prison workers and take other precautions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Hundreds of inmates and staff at U.S. correctional facilities have tested positive for the virus. Health experts say people inside prisons and jails are at heightened risk because of tight inmate quarters, a lack of sanitation and substandard medical care.

Boeing shutdown

Boeing is suspending production at its helicopter plant outside Philadelphia, but will continue to pay workers.

Boeing said the shutdown will begin Friday afternoon and last until April 20. The company said it will deep-clean buildings at the site in Ridley Township, Delaware County, and come up with a plan to safeguard workers from the virus.

Employees who cannot work from home will be paid for the next two weeks, the company said.

Boeing, which employs about 4,500 at the plant, produces military helicopters there including the H-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey.

A person wearing protective masks due to coronavirus concerns walks in Philadelphia, Thursday, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Meek Mill's criminal justice reform group says it's donating 100,000 face masks to some of the nation's most notorious jails and prisons. The celebrity-backed REFORM Alliance announced the donation on Friday. AP FILE PHOTO
FILE - This June 20, 2014 file photo shows the Rikers Island jail complex in New York with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Health experts say prisons and jails are considered a potential epicenter for America's coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)