In a press release distributed on Monday, Governor Jim Justice announced that he is adding legislation to the special session call to shield West Virginia’s state workforce from benefit cuts.

The measure will protect employees in the event that there is no budget in place on July 1 and furloughs are required.

Justice said he does not want any state employee to lose their benefits or their job if there is a furlough or government shut down, the release said, continuing that “his hope is that this legislation will be passed in the special session to preserve health insurance and other important benefits.

“We have to prepare for the worst case scenario, and if that day comes I want to ensure all of our state workers are protected,” said Justice. “It’s not right for our state workforce to lose their health insurance coverage or see their benefits disappear on July 1 if there is no budget in place. This bill needs to pass in order to safeguard state employees.”