Furlough FAQ

 A non-permanent reduction in wages due to lack of work, a projected operational budget deficit or other decline in financial resources.

Yes. The President of Ohio University will announce a furlough in advance of scheduling a furlough leave. Per university policy, notification of a furlough leave (see Furlough Leave policy for exceptions) will be implemented no sooner than fourteen (14) days prior to the first day of a furlough leave.

There will be two different plans.

(1) Cost Savings Furlough Plans: A cost savings mechanism that will adjust salaries and provide a balance of furlough leave days for most employees for a specified period of time. Furlough leave days may be determined by the President or the President’s designee. Furlough leave is not a layoff or reduction in force, as outlined in the civil service rules and Ohio University Policy.  

(2) Extended Furlough Leave:  A continuous period of leave of absence greater than one week, but less than six (6) months, where an employee is not performing work or receiving pay.  Extended furloughs are subject to independent review and approval of the President or the President’s designee. Successive extended furloughs may be granted based on operational and financial needs.

Almost all University employees will participate. Those not participating include student employees, graduate teaching and research assistants and associates, postdoctoral scholars who serve under the conditions of Postdoctoral Service, anyone on an H-1B visa, and employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.  Employees with an annual salary less than $38,000 or at the minimum of their pay grade are exempt from salary reductions.  All employees, even those who are not subject to Cost Savings Furlough, must observe the mandatory leave days established in the Furlough Plan, unless otherwise exempted based on mission-critical or operational needs.

The programs will start with the pay period containing July 1, 2020 and will continue through June 30, 2021.

Eligible employees shall incur a cost savings wage reduction based on the employees’ base pay rate in addition to any fiscal increment and/or additional salary.

Instructional Overloads, Non-Instructional Overloads, Additional Pay, Academic Term Pay, PT Contract Pay, Contract Pay, Summer Term Pay, Summer Research, Early Retiree Pay, Employee Recognition Awards, or Longevity Bonus.

Yes.  A voluntary reduction in pay may be initiated by an employee for the fiscal year in which the President or President’s designee enacts a furlough for the university. The voluntary pay reduction will apply to base pay only and shall be over and above any furlough reduction imposed in accordance with Ohio University Policy 41.106. No additional furlough leave days will be provided. Once elected, it is irrevocable for that fiscal year. A request form is being developed.

Furlough Leave Days are paid the same as any other workday. Because employee pay is reduced each pay period of the year, employees’ pay will not be further reduced during the pay periods when Furlough Leave Days are used.

Yes. The President may establish and determine specific dates to be served as mandatory furlough days; however, remaining dates are considered non-mandatory days used at the discretion of the employee with approval from their supervisor, Chair, and/or Director. With regard to any non-mandatory Furlough Leave Days, supervisors can offer flexibility based on operational needs and the needs of employees. For assistance with developing plans, supervisors can contact their HR Liaison.

Faculty members may not schedule furlough leave for times in which they are scheduled to perform instructional duties.  Outside of times for which they are scheduled to perform instructional duties, non-mandatory furlough days can be used at the discretion of the faculty member with approval of their Chair, Director, or supervisor.

There is no appeal process for the cost savings furlough plan. However, the University understands the financial and personal impact this will have on employees. Employees should work with their supervisor to discuss options for timing of Furlough Leave Days.

You are not permitted to work or perform job duties during your Furlough Leave Days. University employees and supervisors are expected to work together to develop plans to ensure continuity of work and productivity to the extent possible while the cost saving furlough plan is in place, including redistributing or removing certain duties as needed.

Requests should be discussed with your supervisor and can be made like other departmental leave requests (e.g. sick and vacation).

There will be specified codes in Absence Management and WorkForce.

Furlough Leave Days will not have any impact on your FTE.

Employees who perform mission critical functions or who maintain the health and safety on the university campus may be exempted from the furlough plan and/or from the mandatory Furlough Leave Days, subject to the President’s approval.

Employees with an employment start date on or before July 1, 2020, will receive the full allotment of Furlough Leave Days. New employees hired after July 1, 2020, will have their time prorated according to when their employment begins. All employees subject to the program will be required to participate whether or not the language is listed in their offer.

Yes.

Faculty taking a two semesters Fellowship Leave will receive their two-thirds pay based on their current cost savings wage reduction salary for FY21.

No.  Employees should not be working overtime during the week furlough leave days are utilized.  Furlough leave days are not considered hours of work for purposes of overtime calculation.

For more information on unemployment eligibility see the Job and Family Services Unemployment Benefit site by visiting this link: http://jfs.ohio.gov/unemp_comp_faq/index.stm

The University is obligated to comply with federal regulations that require consistency in charging of grant obligations regardless of source of funds.  Consequently the expectation is that personnel supported by extramural funding will be subject to the same furlough conditions as employees paid from operating funds.  If you are concerned that implementing a furlough will jeopardize your ability to meet the terms or obligations of a grant or contract, please contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to discuss these issues and options for addressing them.

No. Your existing vacation and sick leave accruals are not affected. In addition, you will continue to accrue vacation and sick time at your normal FTE.

No. You can continue to request and be approved for vacation or sick time following normal departmental procedures. Your supervisor retains the right to approve or deny requests and balance vacation requests against departmental business needs.

Yes, you will be paid out for vacation time. However, this calculation will be based on your current cost savings wage reduction salary for FY2021. You will not be paid out for unused furlough leave days.

Yes, you may apply Furlough Leave Days instead of sick hours in any situation where sick hours would normally apply.

Winter Break Closure is not expected to be impacted by the cost savings furlough plan.

Eligibility for benefits, such as health, dental, and vision insurance, will not be affected, provided employees continue to pay the appropriate premiums. There will also not be any impact to the accumulation of paid vacation leave or paid sick leave due to the cost savings furlough plan; however, employees who are placed on extended furlough leave will not accrue paid time off during the periods in which they do not work.   

What is affected:

• Benefits calculated as a percentage or multiplier of earnings may be impacted by reduced earnings, including life insurance, long term disability insurance, short term disability insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
• Extended Furloughs may impact eligibility for short and long term disability benefits.  Employees on extended furlough are eligible only until the end of the month following the commencement of the furlough.
• Extended Furloughs may require employees to pay benefit premiums directly to the university (outside the payroll process) during the Extended Furlough.
• For Extended Furloughs, flexible spending account contributions will be suspended during the furlough.  When the employee returns to work, contributions will be increased to so that the full annual election is deducted from the employee’s pay. State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS), and Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) employee and employer contributions are calculated as a percentage of earnings and, therefore, may be reduced.
• Service credit earned under the State Teachers Retirement System and Ohio Public Employee Retirement System may be impacted by Extended Furloughs, which may impact the timing of eligibility for STRS and OPERS retirement and other benefits.
• Where any discrepancy exists between FAQ information regarding benefits and actual benefit plan documents or STRS and OPERS rules, official plan documents and STRS and OPERS rules take precedence.

You may use the pre-furlough institutional base salary (IBS) as the basis for your FY2021 summer salary calculation. However, summer salary based on pre-furlough salary calculations means that you may not take furlough leave during the summer salary period (furlough leave for 9-month employees must be taken during the academic year).  Please contact ORSP at orsp@ohio.edu for further clarification of this issue.

The mandated days will be removed from your allotment of furlough leave days and they cannot be used on a different day.

Yes, the President has mandated specific days on which furlough leave days shall be utilized by employees.  These mandatory furlough days need to be scheduled in Workforce or Absence Management.  It is recommended that employees go into Workforce or Absence Management and schedule these as soon as possible.  Supervisors are responsible for ensuring employees schedule and take the mandatory furlough days. For Fiscal Year 2020-2021, eligible employees shall take the following mandatory furlough days:

November 25, 2020

December 21, 2020

December 22, 2020

December 23, 2020

December 24, 2020

January 4, 2021

January 5, 2021

No, mandatory furlough leave days cannot be taken earlier if you are retiring or resigning before the specific mandated days announced.  For Fiscal Year 2020-2021, eligible employees shall take the following mandatory furlough days:

November 25, 2020

December 21, 2020

December 22, 2020

December 23, 2020

December 24, 2020

January 4, 2021

January 5, 2021

Yes.  Your pay will be reduced each pay period by the percentage indicated in the furlough plan.  If you are hired before the seven mandated furlough days, those seven days will be added to your balance to use.  If your salary falls within the range to receive furlough days above the seven mandated days, those days will be prorated based on your start date.  The seven mandated days can only be taken on the specific scheduled days, and they cannot be used at another time if your start date is on or after the scheduled mandated days.

If you are a part-time employee that works less than 40 hours a week, your furlough days will be prorated based on your FTE.  For example: You are a part-time employee who works 6 hours a day.  When you take a furlough day, you will log your furlough day as 6 hours.  You may not take more furlough time per day than what you typically work. Additionally, if you only work 3 days a week and a mandated day is scheduled on a day you are not typically scheduled to work, you may not use that mandated furlough leave day.  9, 10, and 11-month employees (including faculty) that work 40 hours or more a week during the months they are working are considered full-time.

For all eligible employees, base salaries, fiscal increments and additional salaries are subject to the cost-savings furlough plan, regardless of funding source.  The University is obligated to comply with federal regulations that require consistency in charging of grant obligations regardless of source of funds.  Consequently, the expectation is that personnel supported by extramural funding (foundation, endowments, contracts, etc.) will be subject to the same furlough conditions as employees paid from operating funds.  If you are concerned that implementing a furlough will jeopardize your ability to meet the terms or obligations of a grant or contract, please contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to discuss these issues and options for addressing them.  Additional questions can be directed to University Human Resources at uhr@ohio.edu.