Information on Furloughs, and how they differ from Layoffs

This week, UMass Chan announced the furloughs of 6 SHARE members as a cost saving measure for the University as they experience significant financial hardships due to NIH Grants not being renewed or continued. SHARE is continuing to support these 6 members through this process.

Some of our members have reached out to SHARE inquiring as to the difference between a layoff and a furlough. We would like to provide as much information as we can.

Furlough: A Furlough is like a temporary layoff. This furlough may be partial, meaning that an employee’s number of shifts may be reduced by one or more days. If the employee is fully furloughed, they may not return to work until notified by UMass Chan.

Once Furloughed, the employee will be paid out their vacation time in a lump sum, and may apply for Unemployment Assistance while they wait to return to work, while continuing to hold status as an active UMass Chan employee.

Furloughed employees will still have to pay the employee rate of their GIC health insurance while on furlough, and may continue to pay for all other voluntary benefits.

These Furloughs will not last longer than six months, and will result in the employee either retuning to their position, or their status could be changed to a layoff, at which point the language in our contract regarding layoffs (see below) would apply, including a notice period.

Layoffs: A layoff is when a SHARE member is notified that their position is no longer needed. They are given a 30 day notice, and every effort is made to place them in another position before that notice period expires.

If a SHARE employee is laid off and returns to a SHARE position at UMass Chan within one year, their most recent date of hire before the layoff, adjusted by the length of the layoff, will be restored for purposes of general salary increases, vacation accrual rate, and eligibility for the Tuition Assistance program.

In a layoff situation, Severance will be paid in the amount of one week for every year of completed service with a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of eight weeks, unless they are funded by a grant or a contract that does not provide for severance. If an employee is facing layoff due to the end of a grant or contract that does not provide severance, SHARE and UMass Chan will explore options for the member’s financial security in partnership on a case-by-case basis. Laid off employees shall remain on a recall list for a period of one year.