Silent nights

From Dec. 19 until Dec. 28, while students enjoy their usual holiday break, Portland State faculty and staff will also be gone due to the use of furlough days.

Furlough days are mandatory, unpaid days off for staff and faculty, both classified and unclassified. The closure is an alternative to spreading the furlough days out over the course of the year.

The 10 closure days include six regular workdays and the Christmas holiday, which is paid.

The departments of Academic Affairs, Extended Studies, Student Affairs, Facilities and Planning and others decided that particular week is best for the closure, due to its history of low productivity.

The weeklong closure will help keep employees employed and working when there is actually work to be done.
The exact number of furlough days for an employee is allocated according to annual salary range. For example, unclassified faculty and staff who make $30,000 and below take three furlough days per fiscal year, whereas faculty and staff making between $130,000 and $150,000 are required to take 10.2 furlough days annually.

To determine if an employee is classified, unclassified, represented or not, the Portland State Human Resources Web site has links to salary tier charts indicating percentages of impact on yearly pay and the minimum number of leave days.

All Oregon state agencies are required to stop service one day per month, but universities have decided to condense the furlough days into one week when employees are most apt to take vacation.

The plan addresses the larger, statewide budget crunch.

The aim is to keep people employed while saving money, and to minimize the impact on students and employees who work less than 20 hours per week.

“This is a deep recession and I’m proud of Portland State for living within its means,” said Cathy LaTourette of Portland State human resources office.

Lindsay Desrochers, vice president of Finance and Administration, sent out a campus-wide e-mail in September providing advance notice of the closure.

“It is the intent of the university to provide faculty and staff with maximum opportunities to apply relevant paid leave,” the e-mail read. “In keeping with the spirit…of the…agreements for a leveled approach to the upcoming salary reductions, furlough days and leave days.”

Most university buildings will be closed during the furlough period, though certain rooms in need of regular supervision, such as labs with live specimens, will have technicians on-site to care for them.

The Campus Public Safety Office will also operate as it does during usual closures, and University Housing buildings will still be open and dining halls will be available for use.

Maintenance crews, payroll workers and select administrators will be working, but most buildings, including Millar Library, will be closed for the duration. Decisions are still being made regarding what work is needed on campus during this time.

There will also be a large impact on any on-campus student jobs. Where hours are typically reduced during winter break, this year they will be cut altogether.

“Planning ahead to take care of any parking permits, adds, drops, financial aid issues, advising appointments or any other business in Neuberger Hall is a good idea,” said John Eckman, executive director for Housing and Transportation Services.