With approval from the Winthrop Board of Trustees and the Department of State Human Resources, Winthrop has made the difficult decision to implement a mandatory furlough program due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mandatory furlough program will be in effect September 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021, for an estimated cost savings of $3M to the 2020-2021 budget.
The number of furlough days based on an employee’s appointment for permanent and grant-funded employees are as follows:
Salary Scale | 12 Months | 10.5 Months | 10 Months | 9 Months |
$26,200 and below | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
$26,201 - $49,999 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
$50,000 and up | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 |
Pay for exempt, salaried temporary employees in non-instructional positions will be reduced by 3.5% over the length of their appointment. Non-exempt, hourly temporary employees will be required to reduce their number of work hours by 3.5% over the length of their appointment. Supervisors will be responsible for monitoring the employees’ work hours during this time.
A furlough is a temporary, unpaid leave of absence that is involuntary and required by the employer. The employee remains an employee while taking an unpaid leave of absence. Some reasons an employer may choose furlough include a reduction in on-site operations resulting in less work to be done, or a disruption in funding.
No. A furlough is an unpaid leave of absence, but does not constitute a break in service.
All employees in a state FTE, as well as employees in temporary positions are included in the mandatory furlough.
Certain categories of employees are exempt from the furlough including:
In the event of natural disaster, pandemic or declared state of emergency, additional exclusions or exceptions may be granted by the University President, if deemed necessary to preserve employee health and/or safety or the operational welfare of the University.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, decisions have been necessary that have resulted in significant revenue losses.
Yes. The faculty members on sabbatical are subject to the mandatory furlough.
Yes. The number of furlough days will depend on the new hire’s date of employment and may be prorated if the start date is after September 1.
Information regarding temporary employment during the furlough
Yes. Employees who earn leave will continue to earn leave at their regular rate while on furlough.
During the furlough period, employees are entitled to participate in the same state benefits as otherwise available to them with the exception of receiving their salary. Regular premiums will be deducted from each paycheck.
Retirement benefits will not be negatively impacted by the furlough.
The university is required to pay both the member and employer contributions for employees during the furlough. Because the university is sending furlough supplements to PEBA for missed furlough wages, the account is made whole and there will not be an interruption in benefits nor adjustments to the calculation of benefits. In essence, there will be no negative impact to the retirement benefits. Employees should monitor their accounts during the furlough and report any discrepancies to Human Resources (hrhelp@winthrop.edu) and PEBA (803.737.6800).
An employee’s state hire date, continuous service date, and performance review date will not be adjusted due to the furlough.
To mitigate the financial impact of the furlough on employees, the default method for reduction in pay will allocate the total annual reduction evenly over each pay period for the balance of the fiscal year in no less than one-day increments.
Employees may opt to take all of their furlough days in consecutive work days AND have their pay reduced at the time the consecutive work day furlough is taken. In order to request the lump sum furlough reduction in pay, employees must complete the Lump Sum Furlough Pay Reduction Request form no later than September 8, 2020. This option will not be available after September 8, 2020.
Annual Salary and Number of Months can be found on Wingspan, on the Employee Detail tab, in the Jobs Summary section, select the current assignment to see the Job Detail screen below.
Dual employment and other work performed outside of the employee’s base pay, including earned overtime, will not be impacted by the furlough.
An employee may be eligible for weekly unemployment compensation if during a particular week the employee earns less than their maximum weekly unemployment benefit amount. Since the university is allocating the reduction in pay for the mandatory furlough over the balance of the fiscal year, and not in the pay period(s) within which the furlough occurs, this will likely affect an employee’s ability to qualify for benefits. However, while Winthrop does NOT determine eligibility for unemployment compensation, the likelihood of eligibility would be greater when an employee chooses to take all of their furlough days in consecutive work days and have their pay reduced accordingly.
The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) is solely responsible for determining an employee’s eligibility. All employees have the option to file for unemployment using the MyBenefits portal or calling 1.866.831.1724.
Employees may access SCDEW's website for further information about the unemployment filing process and additional links as it relates to COVID-19 unemployment resources.
No. Furlough days are unpaid leave and may not be taken on any university holiday.
No. Employees cannot use sick leave or annual leave to offset a furlough day.
All furlough days must be taken during the 2020-2021 fiscal year and while the employee is in a pay status. For example, nine-month employees must take their furlough days between September 1, 2020 and May 15, 2021.
Employees must schedule furlough days in consultation with their supervisor/department.
The Office of Human Resources can be reached via e-mail at hrhelp@winthrop.edu for questions regarding this topic.