932
Opinion of the Court
cedural safeguards; and finally, the Government's interest." Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U. S. 319, 335 (1976).
See also, e. g., Mallen, supra, at 242; Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co., 455 U. S. 422, 434 (1982).
Respondent contends that he has a significant private interest in the uninterrupted receipt of his paycheck. But while our opinions have recognized the severity of depriving someone of the means of his livelihood, see, e. g., Mallen, supra, at 243; Loudermill, 470 U. S., at 543, they have also emphasized that in determining what process is due, account must be taken of "the length" and "finality of the deprivation," Logan, supra, at 434 (emphasis added). Unlike the employee in Loudermill, who faced termination, respondent faced only a temporary suspension without pay. So long as the suspended employee receives a sufficiently prompt post-suspension hearing, the lost income is relatively insubstantial (compared with termination), and fringe benefits such as health and life insurance are often not affected at all, Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 18; Record, Doc. No. 19, p. 7.
On the other side of the balance, the State has a significant interest in immediately suspending, when felony charges are filed against them, employees who occupy positions of great public trust and high public visibility, such as police officers. Respondent contends that this interest in maintaining public confidence could have been accommodated by suspending him with pay until he had a hearing. We think, however, that the government does not have to give an employee charged with a felony a paid leave at taxpayer expense. If his services to the government are no longer useful once the felony charge has been filed, the Constitution does not require the government to bear the added expense of hiring a replacement while still paying him. ESU's interest in preserving public confidence in its police force is at least as significant as the State's interest in preserving the integrity of the sport of horse racing, see Barry v. Barchi, supra, at 64,
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