Approved:
City of Riverside, California
Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual
_________________________
Human Resources Director
_________________________
City Manager
Number: V-7 Effective Date: 12/14
SUBJECT: UNPAID VOLUNTARY FURLOUGH POLICY
(VOLUNTARY/UNPAID)
PURPOSE:
To provide for establish guidelines for temporary voluntary furloughs a uniform policy for all eligible benefited City employees in the granting and taking of voluntary furloughs.
POLICY:
In the event that the City Manager determines that cost savings measures should be taken due to adverse economic conditions or financial constraints , which includes the reduction of personnel costs, the City may implement a "Voluntary Furlough Without Pay Plan." Furlough leave may be taken consecutively or incrementallyintermittently. . The following policies shall apply to the 'Voluntary Furlough Without Pay Plan":
Eligibility
1. All full and part-time, benef ited employees are eligible to participate (seasonal and temporary employees are not eligible).
2. Employees with accrued vacation in exce ss of the maximum time allowed or with compensatory time in excess of 42 hours may not participate until they are in compliance with the maximum hours allowed.
3. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempt employees will lose their FLSA exemption status during the workweek(s) in which the furlough occurs and pay is reduced. These employees must adjust their workweek to avoid overtime compensation.
4. Taking unpaid furlough should not result in the need for any other employee to work overtime.
5. An employee may take a minimum of __ days and a maximum of three (3) months of voluntary furlough during a calendar year of voluntary furlough at any one time during the duration of the established furlough plan. Furloughs in excess of 30 calendar days must be approved by the City Manager or designee.
Number: V-7 Effective Date: 12/14-
Compensation and Benefits
1. No form of salary compensation will be paid while on voluntary furlough may be taken (i.e., vacation, paid sick leave, compensator y time, administrative leave). Holidays shall be paid as usual based on the employee’s status (full-time, half-time, 3/4 time).
Taking a furlough day before or after a ho liday will not exclude an employee from receiving holiday pay.
2. The City shall continue to pay the City’s por tion of all existing benefits (i.e., Health & Dental-City portion, Deferred Co mpensation-City portion, Life Insurance -City portion[GM1]). Employees eligible for a city defe rred compensation contribution must contribute the minimum employee contributi on to receive the city contribution. The City will continue to make pro-rata CalPERS contributions (Employer and Employee) on behalf of the employee for all paid hoursas long as there are reportable earnings.
Based on CalPERS rules, employees will earn one (1) year of service credit for every ten (10) months worked in a fiscal year on a full-time basis (1,720 hours).
3. All deductions previously paid by the employee shall continue to be takendeducted from out of the employee's paycheck when a paycheck has been issued with sufficient funds. In the event there are insuffi cient earnings, other cases, it shall be the employee's responsibility to make arrangem ents to pay their por tion of benefits or other mandatory payroll deductions to ensure the continuation of such benefits . This includes, but is not limited to health, dental, l ong-term disability (LTD), critical illness insurance, additional life in surance, deferred comp loans, legal insurance, and court ordered payments. Failure to make the employee portion of the benefit payments may result in disruption of benefits. Employees participating in benefits with pre-tax deductions, such as the Flexible Spending Plan, must continue to have those deductions taken from their paycheck; if t here are insufficient funds, the pre-tax deductions will resume once a paycheck with sufficient funds is generated to bring the employee to-date on any missing deductions.
4. Furlough hours will not cause a break in service, nor a reduction in employee’s seniority with the City, department, or with the position.
5. Furlough hours will not extend a probatio nary period or cause a change in the employee’s anniversary date/merit date.
6. Sick leave and vacation shall continue to accrue as if the employee had worked their regularly scheduled workdays or shift. All benefits shall accrue as if the employee were working (i.e., vacation, sick leave).
Number: V-7 Effective Date: 12/14-
There shall be no loss of seni ority with the City, department, or with the position. There is no break in service.
1) No form of salary compensation may be taken (i.e., vacation, compensatory Time, administrative leave). Holidays shall be paid as usual.
2) The City shall continue to pay the Cit y’s portion of all existing benefits (i.e., Health & Dental-City portion, Deferr ed Compensation-City portion, Life Insurance-City portion). The City will continue to make pro-rata CalPERS contributions (Employer and Employee) on behalf of the employee as long as there are reportable earnings. Based on CalPERS rules, employees will earn one (1) year of service credit for every ten (10) months worked in a fiscal year on a full-time basis (1,720 hours).
3) All deductions previously paid by t he employee shall continue to be taken out of the employee's check when a check has been issued with sufficient funds.
In other cases, it shall be the employ ee's responsibility to make arrangement to pay their portion of benefits or other payroll deductions. This includes, but is not limited to, health, dental and Long Term Disability (LTD) insurance premiums, deferred compensation, credit union, bonds, union dues, court ordered payments.
4) There shall be no loss of seniority with the City, department, or with the position.
There is no break in service.
5) All benefits shall a ccrue as if the employee were working (i.e., vacation, sick leave).
6) Employees must request the furlough through their supervisor using the appropriate form at least two (2) weeks prior to the first day of the furlough request . The requested furlough days must be approved by the dDepartment hHead. The Ddepartment hHead may accept or reject a request for furlough based on the department’s operational needsafter considering the employee’s posit ion, seniority and the needs of the department. Furlough time off will not be approved retroactively. Approved furlough requests should not be disciplinary in any way.
7) An employee may take up to three (3) months of voluntary furlough at any one time. Furloughs in excess of 30 calendar days must be approved by the City Manager.
8) FLSA exempt employees will lose t heir FLSA exemption status during the week(s) in which the furlough occurs and pay is reduced. These employees must adjust their workweek to avoid overtime compensation.
Number: V-7 Effective Date: 12/14-
9) Employees with accrued vacation in e xcess of the maximum time allowed or with compensatory time in excess of 42 hours may not participate in this plan until they are in compliance with the maximum hours allowed.
10) The Human Resources Department wi ll have administrative authority to update any attached forms to this policy on an as-needed basis.Taking unpaid furlough should not result in the need for any other employee to work overtime.
Attachment:
1. 1. Voluntary Furlough Form
City of Riverside
Human Resources Department
Voluntary Furlough Request
The City Manager has initiated a Voluntary Furlou gh Program. Be sure to review the Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual V-7, Furlough Policy (Voluntary/Unpaid).
Name: ____________________________ Employee ID: ______ _______ Position:
_____________________________
Type of Furlough Schedule
Proposed Schedule Arrangements
I n d i c a t e h o w m a n y d a y s y o u w i s h t o b e o n u n p a i d f u r l o u g h a n d y o u r 1st and 2 nd choices of schedule arrangements.
First Choice
Second Choice
Have you accumulated more than 42 hours of unused comp. time? ___ Yes ___ No
____ Consistent
Ex: 4/9 (4 days/9 hrs per day) with
every Friday off or 9/8 (9 days/8 hrs
per day) with every other Monday
off
____ Intermittent
Ex:
April 19, 2019
April 30, 2019
May 9, 2019
____ Consecutive*
Ex: May 1, 2019 – May 15, 2019
*Anything over 30 days requires CMO
approval
Number: V-7 Effective Date: 12/14-
Will your accrued vacation time exceed that allowed (2 years) by December 31st of this year? ___ Yes ___ No
I have read and understand policy Furlough Policy (Voluntary/Unpaid) V-7 and I make this request voluntarily. I also understand that any benefit or pa yroll deduction that is in effect at the time of the furlough will be deducted from my paycheck and if my earnings do not cover the deductions, I will be invoiced for the balance.
Employee’s Signature: _______________________________________ Date:
________________________
Approvals
Supervisor’s Comments & Recommendation:
Supervisor’s Signature: ____________________________________ Date:
________________________
Department Head ____ Approve ____ Deny Signature:
______________________ Date: _____________
Human Resources ____ Approve ____ Deny Signature:
______________________ Date: _____________
City Manager Approval (Requests in excess of 30 consecutive days)
___ Accept ____ Reject Signature: ______________________ Date:
_____________