SACRAMENTO -- The decision to furlough state employees over the last five years may have saved money in the short term but will leave bigger bills for California down the road, according to a new report.

State employees took fewer and fewer vacation days because furloughs were already forcing them to take time off from work. Now California will have to pay them $3 billion for unused time off when they retire, an increase of more than $1 billion since the furloughs began.

When payouts for other types of compensation are included, the total bill rises to $3.9 billion, the report said. About one-third of the money is owed to corrections officers.

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