L.A. Will Supplement Salaries of Reservists

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to ensure that city employees who are military reservists will not take a pay cut if they are called to serve in the Gulf War. The council voted 13 to 1 to pay city workers the difference between their military pay and their city salary for up to six months.

As of Wednesday, 80 of the city’s 541 employee-reservists had been called up. Historically, any reservist called into active duty had his or her city salary suspended, but was compensated by his or her branch of the armed forces. Under the plan adopted Wednesday, reservists will earn their military pay and the proportionate amount of their city wages to equal their full city salary.

City analysts estimated the cost would be negligible since most of the positions being vacated by reserves would not be filled for the duration of the war.