Excerpt: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger illegally furloughed 7,400 employees of the State Compensation Insurance Fund this year, a San Francisco judge ruled Tuesday in a case that may help workers in other state agencies challenge their unpaid leaves. Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard affirmed a tentative ruling she had issued Monday that the governor had no authority to cut the staff of the insurance fund. The fund, based in San Francisco, sells workers' compensation insurance to employers and uses the proceeds to run its operations, with no support from the state treasury. Woolard's tentative decision came in a suit by the Service Employees International Union, which represents the fund's nearly 6,300 clerical workers, claims adjusters and support staff. She granted the fund's request Tuesday to extend the ruling to another 1,100 employees not represented by the union. Schwarzenegger will appeal the ruling, said spokesman Mike Naple.  MORE >>