A major private university in the northeast.

Maybe if this company didn't go in to large debt to purchase two other large companies in the last 6 months, this wouldn't have happened.

The company doing this is not "trimming the fat", they are performing a corporate lobotomy (or lobectomy I suppose...), cutting the historic memory out of their organization. The best companies are furloughing and cutting salaries specifically so they don't lose the valuable resources they will need when the economy picks up again.

Care to name names? I sure don't want to apply for a job at that place once they're hiring again.

This worked well. My boss gladly gave me the furloughs on my terms. I get to take the two days anytime of the month I want (w/ prior notice), and during those furlough days I'm completely free - no need to do any take-home work. I don't live in fear of being laid off, as my boss is ever so appreciative of the fact that I approached her.

And after not having a day off for almost 3 years (all my vacay time was used for going out of town), I must say that the R&R time is so much more valuable than the decreased pay.

My company (a print, TV and web media group) gave us four days off in March and then three more each in Q2 and Q3 for a total of ten unpaid days off. That basically saves them a paycheck from every person in the company and helps to staunch the bleeding from our failing print business.

Which is great, until they realized they'd been telling sellers - the only ones who actually make the money for the company - that they had to take unpaid time off. So now the sales staff gets to work as usual, and it doesn't cost the company much because they're on commission with a very small draw.

I, for one, tried to negotiate more time off in exchange for a lower starting salary but I was told that vacation policies were not negotiable. Who's laughing now, Corporate Stiffs! I get my two extra weeks and all you get is 1/24th of my salary back!

I spend my furlough days working on my freelance design business (and drinking). I've already made enough this year to cover half my lost income, so it's not too bad.

I would LOVE a freaking furlough just so I can get some rest. I'm so tired at night I can hardly write. At this rate, I'll never finish my book.

I think this was the case with a job I applied for when I was unemployed. I actually was offered the job, but it was kind of weird. It paid $7 an hour, but they said it was salaried, and it was iffy on the hours. They also said there was an opportunity to make more money and get more hours. It sounded bogus, and when the manager called me up and offered me the job, I asked him about it out of curiosity. He got extremely defensive, and I told him, thanks but no thanks.

The employees are pretty dumb if they buy the bit that them getting 26 payments still means there isn't a pay cut in there. It just means that the days you aren't getting paid for come out of next year.

From the way you presented the info, it sounds like the companies are trying to sell the furlough as not a pay cut because of the pay periods.

By spreading them out, we can't collect unemployment. Some unions however, had a clause which stated they can demand consecutive days. 6 consecutive days is just enough to allow those employees to claim unemployment benefits.

For the state to pay out unemployment, it costs them extra thereby adding to the deficit. So now those union employees have to take 9 days furlough, consecutive. But, they are getting unemployment. Not sure what is the better deal.

Oh, but you're probably too good to flip burgers.

here's an example.

A Lawyer gets hired at 100k a year, said lawyer has to work 10 to 14 hours a day most days averaging say 60 hours a week.

A 100k a year is around 50 dollars an hour. so if you factor in overtime this is how much you should make as said lawyer. 182,000 a year. See where they're getting screwed?

Did you read the original post? That's what I was responding to.

To answer your question: Protest that a salaried part-time employee can be made to work full-time (and more) hours on a regular basis without compensation for those hours because the job is classified "exempt". In essence, the employer is getting a full-time profession- or management-level worker and paying only part-time for his/her skills and experience.

Do I request it and look like a team player, or am I damning myself by doing that? It was brought up to me by HR (small company, HR is 1 guy here)that I could do this, and that they needed me to. Am I lining myself up to get bounced out?

@xkevin108x: Whether or not furloughs are a morale buster really depends on the context. If you work in a company...like someone I know...where there have been 4 rounds of layoffs, a 5% pay cut and elimination of the 401(k) match, then reduced hours or a furlough don't seem that bad.

At least you still have some income and health insurance. No one is bailing on the company either...because there's nowhere else to go.

@Grant Gannon: 27 pay periods if you're paid on a Friday or Thursday, which I guess is many people but not all.

I'm paid every other Tuesday - and this month is the 3-times paid month! Extra studen loan payment yay!

Think of all the wasted hours businesses pay for in the office life style?

and then imagine all the extra hours you'd get paid for when you actually have work to do.

@sanjsrik: what are you talking about? people are being Furloughed and salaried people I know are having money taken from their check for imaginary hours they didn't work. How is that even remotely legal? seriously get a clue before you comment.

@pecan 3.14159265: My compnay has "forced unpaid vacation" -- your badge and remote access are disabled for the week you are on leave, so you don't have the option of working even if you wanted to.

Which is great and all until people at work realize you're the only one with the passwords they need...

@Skankingmike: I hope you aren't suggesting that we adopt the labor laws of France.

IMO this is the FIRST step any large organization, whether profit or nonprofit, should take before contemplating other cost-cutting measures. The difference between the top execs' salaries and the peons' is ridiculous.

I wouldn't bet on their going back to the former salaries.

As a salaried (exempt), part-time employee, I agree. But it will NEVER happen. (compensation for extra hours worked by salaried ppl) Our workaholic culture buys right into this, and now with this recession everyone is too scared to protest.

We had 7 days where I work. Two were on holidays that we are usually paid for. The other 5 we were able to schedule. I took them off all together and did a side job. In about 10 hours of self-employment, I made as much as I would have in 40 hours with my employer.

Nice to have the extra income. Sucks for workers who are "exempt" from earning overtime for extra work, like yours truly.

To me, this seems like a much more humane solution than simply slashing entire positions from the payroll.

Employers have staff over a barrel these days. It's awful. I've been told I may have to increase my hours but with no commensurate pay increase. Basically taking a 20% salary cut. Will try to fight this within the HR system if it happens, but I'm in no position to dictate deal-breakers in this economic climate; I need and want my job... kids to put through college etc.

And that is exactly what they did here, at least in my department, where people in their late 50s and early 60s were let go. These people were not ready to or planning to retire yet. In both cases they were the sole source of health and pension benefits for their spouses. Where's the AARP when you need them? They seem to be rolling over on this one; I go to their site but find little encouragement for people to pursue age discrimination claims in such cases.

In the private industry they just reduce pay but there is no extra time off for that reduction in pay.

@HillSA23:
Our furlough, lack of cost of living pay increase increase, and the increase in health insurance equal a paycut of ~3.4% for hillsborough county employees.
@SarcasticDwarf:
everyone who works under the hcplc.org division.

Yes, but we're not being furloughed are we? We're collecting our paychecks and actually working.

Or, such as the Child Services? Them not being there is a GOOD thing for all children and parents concerned for all the harm they cause.

2010 will go back to 26 pay periods in year. It doesn't work out to where it's 27 then then 25. Best I can tell there are still 52 weeks in a year.

Furlough? I worked 30 hours of overtime in the last month... Of course my industry isn't hurting that bad.

In order to keep up and stay under budget, my company has cut everyones salary by 8% for a 3 month period. Hopefully, they don't get used to it and keep it that way.

I took a couple Fridays off, though. The library survived without me.

I also worry that even after the economy improves companies will try to keep going on the furloughs to save themselves money and further boost profits.

Salaried employees are in fact indentured servants in which your hourly work does not equal pay.

The creation of salary work has circumvented much labor legislation.

Tell my why somebody shouldn't be paid per the hour they work? why is it that you can force somebody who is salary to work more than 8 hours in a day without compensation for it? or work more than 40 hours in a week without overtime?

Salary employees are often forced into working ridiculous hours without the benefit of being paid for them.

This country needs a labor reform in the worst way, we've allowed big businesses to control how we live by dictating what they will pay for and won't.

Sorry but i just get pissed about this.

I asked somebody who was getting furloughed if how they can take your money away from working if you aren't paid hourly. They shrugged. Because my argument would be what about the days I work more than 8 hours in a day? or the times you've asked me to work weekends?

If you're not hourly why furlough?

My sister is getting 2 furlough days a month forced upon her, as a state employee working for a University.

It's adding insult to injury- she already works a 60 hour week and is underpaid for her position. I doubt she'll actually work less- just get paid less. Too bad, as it's forcing her to think about a new job (and she's really, really good at what she does).

Similar situation here for 2010-2011. Our budget is as bad, if not worse, than it was for this year. Scary stuff. Lots of people looking for other jobs.

It's especially notable in Human Services where low pay is now lower pay and funding is becoming extremely tight for valuable community resources. Both the severity of reported cases and the waiting lists for programs that could help families are increasing.

I don't mind the furlough stuff so much. Sure, it sucks and I'll miss the money. I feel worse about the kids in the community. The abuse cases that made me cringe are a thing of the past -- people are FAR worse to their children in a recession.

We're not really busy enough to have to come in on days off. The only people I could see coming in on a furlough day are the ones who like to create drama and overinflate the value of their positions. I think (hope) management can see through that, but really the bottom line is that I just don't know.

Explained -

[bit.ly]

If only we could get our wonderful legislators to take furlough days too...

I'm actually getting more hours due to the number of positions that have been cut. I want to complain about the hugantic work load, but overtime is better than no time! Plus I still make enough free time for myself to be able to visit the consumerist so not all is bad.

God, I forgot how hot Jessica Alba was in Idle Hands.

Kept us from letting them go, which is good since many of them are previous employees from the outsourcing.

The summer Fridays policy there is that you work extra Mon-Thur, and then you get to take every other Friday off. It's basically a flex time arrangement that results in a couple of three-day weekends. Nice, right?

And my first summer there, everyone took their summer Fridays, and it was the thing to do. I left just before what would have been my second summer there, as I wanted to relocate.

But since then, they have failed to replace five positions (and in a thirty-person office, that's a lot) and angry Facebook updates from the former co-workers I was close to show me that now, they're working the extra, unpaid overtime Mon-Th... and still coming in on those "summer Fridays." As a "favor." "Just this once." Except that now they're all only taking like two Fridays in the whole summer...

@OminousG:

I should add that this is for the October 2009 to October 2010 budget year.
Commissioners have already warned us that 2010-2011 is not balanced yet, and there will be no holding back.

Hillsborough County, Florida. Library services to be exact.

1 working week of Furlough so far. Not all at once, and rumors have that at least 2 of those days will be up to the employee(s). The other days will be Mondays after holidays.

I'm using that time to whore myself on craigslist tech support listings.

I understand the reasoning behind forced unpaid days off...but it's almost as if it's the calm before the storm. I think a lot of people see furloughs as the final step before a layoff, and that tends to get people worried. I wonder if a lot of people who actually stay home during the furloughs are job hunting, in case there really are layoffs.

if it means that you keep your job, then collect unemployment for that time and enjoy time with the family. it happended to with one job i had every few months we couldnt come to work for like a week bc of billing issues to the city, got a week of rest and took care of things that i could.