Spring Break
University furlough day hits low-pay workers too
Those making less than $23,660 told to make tough decisions
BRITTANY COFER
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: News
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But, that is not the case.
Employees taking furlough days are prohibited from coming to work on those days. Those who make less than $23,660 - who were told they would not be affected by the furlough - have been notified the University will effectively be closed, and they must either take a leave day or work extra hours to make up for those lost.
But hourly workers who are unable to make up the eight hours missed on Friday have little choice other than taking the leave day.
Ron Hamlin, director of Campus Transit, said his employees were given three options.
"One is to work four 10-hour days during the week of the furlough [to constitute a 40-hour work week]. One is to take leave. And one is to take overtime ... [where employees] work 5.3 hours overtime [being paid time and a half] and it'll be credited as eight hours toward their furlough day," Hamlin said, noting there were three employees within Campus Transit who were faced with this decision.
"The three all opted to work and bank their time as compensatory time," he said Wednesday.
The options workers were given varied by department, as supervisors had the discretion to determine the options. But Matthew Winston, assistant to the president, said department supervisors were told they should exhaust all options before resorting to having employees who are exempt from furloughs take the day off.
"If all options were explored and they didn't work out ... [then] the supervisor would be able to request permission [to have workers take leave] and have that approved by a senior vice president, basically completely shutting down their unit and not being able to provide or have the opportunity for employees to work," Winston said Wednesday.
Winston said it did not surprise him that some employees were being asked to take leave days, but he said the number of workers in such a situation should be "few and far between."
"Every supervisor was supposed to find a reason not to do that," he said.
Holley Schramski, associate vice president for the University's Human Resources department, said there are multiple ways departments could address the issue of how to compensate workers who are not being furloughed, but cannot work on the furlough day.
