Gwinnett employees will be paid for holidays

Gwinnett County employees got an early Christmas present Tuesday when the Board of Commissioners eliminated two remaining unpaid furlough days.

Last February commissioners voted to require employees to take unpaid furlough days for Independence Day, Labor Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. The move was expected to save $2.8 million at a time when Gwinnett was trying to eliminate an $18 million budget deficit.

That deficit has been eliminated. Gwinnett officials said the first two furlough days and other budget-cutting measures saved enough to allow employees to be paid for the two remaining holidays.