Scheduling furlough days

Division Team, Furlough guidance letters are expected to be distributed this week. In planning your furlough days, for information purposes, an option to consider, subject to work activities in your respective units and the practicality of scheduling, are three that would essentially provide a longer legal holiday, specifically:

• Friday, May 22 (Memorial Day on Monday, May 25)
• Friday, July 3 (Independence Day on Saturday, July 4)
• Friday, September 4 (Labor Day on Monday, September 7)

Please know that, furlough days directly adjacent to a legal holiday may not be taken as a furlough day.  Specifically, Tuesday May 26, Monday July 6th or Tuesday September 8^th may not be taken as furlough days.  You may use paid leave (e.g. vacation) on those days if you choose. Per the FAQ’s https://hr.wisc.edu/covid19/furlough/#faq; for Campus-Wide, Intermittent Furloughs, an employee will receive holiday pay, as long as the holiday is not the same day as their identified furlough day.  Employees cannot take furlough days on both the day before and the day after a holiday due to the university’s legal holiday eligibility requirements.  For employees in a Position-Specific Furlough or a Work-Share program, an employee would not receive holiday pay for any holidays that occur during the furlough.  Because of the July 4 holiday falling on a weekend, it will be a “floating holiday” which you will be able to use like a vacation day any other time during the year. For those of you who are academic staff, you are allowed to use only one furlough day per work week. For those of you who are university staff, you are allowed to take as many furlough days per week as you want/have and may take furlough days consecutively as well. Again, in consideration of the potential for peek activities in your work unit and that the above three dates may present complications for your work unit or for you personally, you are asked to work with your supervisor to arrange your personal schedule of furlough dates to be taken similar to planning other days you may need to schedule to be away from work during the year. Should you have further questions, please work with your supervisor. Thank you, Daniel B. Langer Assistant Vice Chancellor/Controller