LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles County Superior Court announced a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program to give court employees the option to leave court service as part of an effort to reduce staff positions and lower expenses amid ongoing budgetary constraints.
The court will offer a $35,000 payment to current full-time employees with five or more years of continuous service who elect to resign. Vacated positions will be eliminated outright, in the effort to produce budget savings rather than one-time relief, the court said in a statement.
Court users should expect reduced or delayed service due to the staffing reductions and other operational cuts, including longer wait times at service windows, slower call center response and delays in legal document processing.
“Just as Los Angeles County residents are struggling to keep pace with rising gas and grocery prices, the court finds itself in a similar bind — our operational costs continue to outpace our budget resources,” said Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II.
“We are grateful to our partners in the executive and legislative branches, but the reality is that funding has not kept pace, and the court must responsibly weather this budget storm through difficult decisions like the VSIP, steps that will likely affect the services we provide to the public. Courts are a foundational pillar of our democracy, and it is essential that they be properly and sustainably funded so that all Californians can continue to rely on timely, fair access to justice.”
The court has also delayed or eliminated select special projects and is reviewing programs that fall outside the court’s core mission for potential reduction or elimination and said it is committed to identifying reasonable cost-saving measures available before considering layoffs or furloughs.
Although the court received partial inflationary funding in the state budget, the amount falls short of keeping pace with actual rising costs, the court said. Rising vendor costs, county-provided services, custodial operational expenses and negotiated employee salary increases will exceed the additional inflationary funding by approximately $9.1 million.
The court said that since 2021, the inflationary funding has fallen short of the state Department of Finance’s calculated inflationary need by 13.1% cumulatively, or roughly $88 million.
The problem only starts there, the court said. The Court is underfunded by $233.7 million compared to the funding it needs to process the 1.3 million filings it receives annually. The current state budget leaves the court’s funding at 76.77% of its calculated need, the lowest level since 2021, and the largest raw shortfall since at least 2013, the court said.
“Parting ways with dedicated and talented staff is never something we take lightly,” said Executive Officer and Clerk of Court David W. Slayton. “But with our funding continuing to fall short of what it takes to sustain critical court operations, we are hopeful that enough employees will choose to voluntarily separate, providing critical savings and helping us protect the workforce as we move into the next fiscal year.”
The court said it last used a VSIP program to reduce its budget in 2024, resulting in approximately $4 million in ongoing budget reductions.
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