< p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Guard mistakenly sent out furlough notices to Guard members in up to 21 states, despite the Pentagon's decision to delay the notification of unpaid time off for two more weeks.

The Defense Department initially said it would be sending furlough notices to the bulk of its 800,000 civilian employees at the end of this week because of automatic budget cuts that took effect March 1. The Pentagon delayed the notices for two more weeks after Congress passed legislation moving some of the money around.

Officials are working with the states to get the notices rescinded.

The states are Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Earlier, officials had included Missouri among the states, but then left Missouri off a revised list.