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The Prince George's County Council delayed approval Tuesday of a 10-day furlough for county employees after fire, police and correctional unions filed a lawsuit Monday alleging labor violations regarding the furloughing of public safety workers.

Vince Canales, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 89 in Upper Marlboro, said in a statement Monday that county police are already "woefully understaffed" and the department expects more than 200 officers to retire in the upcoming fiscal year. Decreasing police staffing any further will put both officers and citizens in jeopardy, he said.

The County Council had planned to approve a resolution mandating a 10-day furlough during a hearing Tuesday, but Jonathan R. Seeman, the director of the county's Office of Management and Budget, asked the council to move discussion and approval until the July 14 work session, in light of the lawsuit.

The proposed furloughs would be the second round in the last year for county employees, after the council voted unanimously Sept. 16 to furlough employees 80 hours, as more than 200 county employees and union members protested the mandatory time off.

This second round of furloughs, if approved, would go into effect immediately. In September's round of furloughs, employees had until the end of the 2009 fiscal year, which ended June 30, to take the days.

County spokeswoman Karen Campbell said she could not comment on the lawsuit and referred all questions to Stephanie P. Anderson, an attorney in the county's Office of Law. Anderson did not return calls by press time.

The suit, which includes the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and unions representing correctional officers, civilian police employees and sheriff's deputies, was filed Monday by attorney Bruce R. Lerner of Washington, D.C.-based Bredhoff & Kaiser P.L.L.C.

A woman at the firm said Lerner was out of the office for the day Tuesday.

The lawsuit states that the county's furlough plan adopted in 1991, is not applicable to all county employees and limits furloughs to employees paid in certain salary schedules, which do not include the unions in question.

In court documents filed in September, the same five labor unions — which represent 5,900 Prince George's County employees — asked the court to rescind furloughs.

Unions alleged the September furloughs violated the labor contracts' cost-of-living and merit raises for the next two years.

"The employee furlough plan has reduced the annual salaries of all covered employees by 80 hours during fiscal year 2009, or approximately 3.9 percent of annual pay," Lerner wrote.

Catherine Taggart-Ross of Clinton, a former police officer in the District, said she in uncomfortable with decreasing public safety workers.

In a written testimony she planned to deliver to the council Tuesday, Taggart-Ross asked the council to "acknowledge the need of these essential services to maintain public safety and sustainability that protect lives and property."

However, testimonies were not received at Tuesday's meeting. Campbell said she is not sure whether public comment will be allowed at next week's work session.

E-mail Megan McKeever at mmckeever@gazette.net.