The Pew Charitable Trusts

Malloy and union leaders agreed to "clarified" language on Friday geared toward assuaging fears about potential alterations in health benefits. Union leaders also modified their by-laws to make it easier to ratify changes to pensions and benefits. And now that at least 1,851 layoff notices have already been delivered, the choice between accepting concessions or widespread layoffs has become far more real — the difference between a numerical threat from the governor's office and colleagues with pink slips in hand.  Still, no one is making any assumptions about ratification until the votes are counted, perhaps because of the unexpected nature of the original deal's collapse. "I think it's a 50-50 proposition, but it's 100 percent guaranteed that the budget will be in balance," Malloy told  the Hartford Courant . "We are going to be in a position to have the budget in balance one way or the other." Most of the employees who have received layoff notices are in a state of limbo and have been told that they will now be able to keep their jobs if their peers ratify the contracts, according to  the Connecticut Post . " I was elated. I thought, 'Oh my God ... Maybe there is a second chance,'" said Marcia Barry, a paralegal specialist for the state Workers Compensation Commission who was among those to receive layoff notices.