Week 25 - and Furlough and Furlough-Based Salary programs

Tue Sep 1 13:08:19 MST 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the beginning of week 25 of dispersed work--almost half a year.

On the good news front, SARS-COV2 infections in Pima County are seemingly not out of control and we are still operating. K-12 schools in many parts of Arizona are saying that they plan to open for in-person teaching either very soon or, in Pima County's case, in a couple of weeks.

In our classrooms and in the counties, you are getting it done. THANK YOU.

In the "classroom" hang in there 'til Thanksgiving; in the counties keep hanging in there as part of your communities as you have been throughout the pandemic. If you can work outdoors, do so.

I know there is a great deal of confusion and frustration about the Furlough and Furlough-Based Salary programs--which one applies to each of us and why. Many of you will be exempted from both. Our Division Business Services team has been working all weekend to try to fix the issues and ensure that UAccess has each of you assigned to the correct program. As I type this, they are also creating a short, easy-to-follow guide to understanding the two programs.

You may well be one of several hundred ALVSCE employees like me who will move from "Personal Flex Hours" to "Furlough Hours." No one should move in the other direction. This situation is unique to ALVSCE employees because many are being paid by direct federal Hatch Act (1887), Smith-Lever Act (1914) and CES state funding, not just by federal and other grants and contracts. The good news is that this creates more dollars back for many of our employees.

You can check your current status on your Pay Reduction Tracking tile (see your UAccess Employee/Manager Self-Service - UA Employee Main Homepage<https://uaccess.arizona.edu/>). Please know that even though your employee record may be revised in the next days, the Pay Reduction Tracking tile will not be correct until September 7. If, after September 7, you check the Pay Reduction Tracking tile and you think it is wrong, contact your business officer immediately.

If you have had the mental bandwidth to follow along with our revenue, cost and budget trials, you will have realized that more dollars in employee pockets is less "salary savings" available as "revenue" to pay the bills. Please know that these changes are not putting any jobs at risk.

Finally, even though those of you flipping to the Furlough Program will be taking fewer unpaid hours, you will still be required to take them.

Please work with your supervisor to identify what part of your workload you won't get done. I won't reiterate UA policies; they are clear, and you must read them and work to them. But I want you to know that I realize it is impossible to achieve as much when working as little as 80% of your typical schedule. For CALS and CES faculty especially, your time is very specifically accounted for and you do not work "40:40:20" as do faculty in other UA colleges. Please ensure that your annual review and P and C/T materials reflect the decreased time you are working in specific areas during this time.

Best wishes as the week unfolds and maybe I will see you at "the week that almost was" this Thursday at 4:30.

Regards,
Shane

My mask protects you; your mask protects me. We’ve controlled infectious diseases without vaccines for thousands of years. Wearing our masks means we can have a functioning economy and concurrently save thousands of lives.

All UA employees, students and visitors must wear a face covering inside all UA buildings, unless alone in a single occupancy office, and in UA outdoor spaces where continuous physical distancing of at least six feet is difficult or impossible to maintain.

Shane C. Burgess
Vice President for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

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P.O. Box 210036 | Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
Office: 520-621-7621
sburgess at cals.arizona.edu<mailto:sburgess at cals.arizona.edu>
alvsce.arizona.edu<https://alvsce.arizona.edu/>
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The University of Arizona is located statewide on the ancestral homelands of indigenous peoples.
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