Fall 2020 Furlough FAQs

• There are 66 full furloughs
• There are 63 partial furloughs

The departments most impacted are Dining Services, Facilities Management, and Student Affairs. ITS and Academic Affairs were also impacted.

The expectation is that the time period will begin on August 31 and end on December 30, with a possible return date of December 31, 2020. However this is not definite and is subject to change, depending on the state of the pandemic and the College's operating needs.

While it is difficult to predict the behavior of the pandemic, there is hope for a spring return of employees and students to campus. The end of the calendar year provides a reasonable basis for us to define an end period for this furlough period.

This return date is not definite primarily because we are unsure of how the pandemic will evolve and its effect on the College's operations. It should also be noted that, according to the Employment Development Department of the State of California, "[i]f you are not given a definite return-to-work date, any vacation or holiday pay you receive when your job ends is not deducted from your weekly [unemployment] benefit amount."

With the decision to go to all-remote instruction this fall, each department was reviewed to determine which functions will be needed to serve the community at this time. Based on these operational considerations, positions were identified with functions for which there would be no demand or that could be carried out on a less than full-time basis. Wherever possible, employee positions were maintained by cutting other expenses and leaving open positions unfilled. Where positions were affected for the duration of the semester, the College explored the feasibility of reducing employee workload through partial furloughs prior to implementing full furloughs. In all cases, positions affected were determined by their role in providing the services required to support our students, employees and community. In cases where two or more employees sharing the same title in the same department were impacted, decisions were based on seniority and the ability to perform the remaining work.

Employees were first informed of the overall need for these changes in an August 3 email announcement from President Elam, followed by a virtual all-staff meeting that same morning that was recorded and posted on the Oxy website. Affected employees were informed directly by their supervisor and/or department head and pertinent information was reviewed individually with employees by members of the Human Resources Office. Employees are also receiving a written notice of this change, sent via U.S. mail.

The unemployment benefit in California is based on income received over the previous 12 months, with a maximum amount of $450 per week. The Employment Development Department provides a calculator to provide an estimated benefit at https://edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/UI-Calculator.htm. The site indicates that quarterly earnings of $11,685 may provide the basis for a claim of $450 per week. Any unemployment claim amount would be reduced by earnings provided for the College. For example, if an employee is eligible for a $450 benefit and the College has provided $100 in earnings, then the unemployment benefit will be $350 ($450 - $100 = $350).

According to EDD, an individual would be considered eligible for unemployment benefits in “[a]ny week of less than full-time work, if the wages payable to him or her with respect to the week, when reduced by twenty-five dollars ($25) or 25 percent of the wages payable, whichever is greater, do not equal or exceed his or her weekly benefit amount . . .” This means that someone would be eligible if they are working less than 25% of their normal full-time work in a particular week and are now earning less than the unemployment benefit amount (which is a maximum of $450 per week).

At this point, the best way to do it is via an online application by going to https://edd.ca.gov/. The Human Resources office is available to help you with this application. While we cannot file this application on your behalf, you can set up a time for a member of the Human Resources office to work with you in completing the application. You may not apply for unemployment benefits until the first day that you are actually not earning income.

As we are not providing you with a "definite return date," the vacation payout should not be counted in the unemployment benefits claims calculation. As cited previously, according to the Employment Development Department of the State of California, vacation will not be applied to the calculation of the potential unemployment benefit if there is not a "definite return date." While we are hopeful that the return date will be December 31, we cannot provide this date as a "definite return date," which is why we believe that vacation payout will not be counted in the unemployment benefit calculation.

On Saturday, August 8, a federal executive order was enacted which may provide additional unemployment benefits of up to $400, depending on certain state action. At the time this answer was drafted, the determination as to whether these benefits will exist in California has not yet been determined.

No. Email will not be deactivated during furloughs. However, please note that employees may not do any work for the College during furloughs, including responding to or writing emails that are related to the employee’s work responsibilities.

While your Oxy email will continue to receive community-wide emails, it is recommended that you set up an email forward for addresses where you would expect community-wide emails to come from, so that you can receive these emails easily without accessing work-related emails.

Yes. You are free to do anything you wish for your own personal reasons, as long as it is not work that is assigned, either directly or implicitly, by anyone at the College.

Yes, you may attend public events at the College, but you may not attend work-related employee events while fully furloughed.

Vacation and sick leave will not be accrued during the full furlough.

In general, employees will be paid the sum of their vacation earnings in their final paycheck prior to the full furlough. This is in accordance with California state law. College employees in positions represented by SEIU who are on full furlough will have until September 1 to elect to cash out any or all of their vacation earnings. So, while vacation accruals cannot be applied during a full furlough, most employees can consider the vacation payout to be similar to using vacation pay to replace earnings.

No, sick time cannot be used while fully furloughed. The sick leave accruals currently earned will be available to the employee upon their return from the full furlough.

On April 7, the city of Los Angeles passed a public order relating to Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, this sick time cannot be used while furloughed.

If you took a furlough prior to August, took vacation time to continue pay, and your position has been identified as requiring a full furlough, the College will account for that vacation lost in your vacation payout.

As we are not providing you with a "definite return date," the vacation payout should not be counted in the unemployment benefits claims calculation. As cited previously, according to the Employment Development Department of the State of California, vacation will be applied to calculate the potential unemployment benefit if there is a definite return date but will not be applied if there is not a "definite return date." While we are hopeful that the return date will be December 31, we cannot provide this date as a "definite return date," and for that reason believe that vacation payout will not be counted in the unemployment benefit calculation.

You may not continue to work for the College during times that you are not expected to work. You may not perform any work for the College unless the work is specifically assigned to you, in writing, by an official representative of the College.

Yes, email or phone calls where it could reasonably be assumed that you are performing work related to your position at the College would be considered to be work. For this reason, you are not to respond to emails or phone calls that would be considered work during your partial furlough.

Your email account will continue, but you will be provided instructions on how to set up a forwarding address to a colleague who is not on partial furlough so that important emails and phone messages are addressed. You will also be provided with directions on how to set up an out-of-office message that can be placed on your account.

During this extraordinary time, the campus will be closed to visitors and, while you are and continue to be a valued member of our community, we ask that you keep campus visits to a minimum. If you need to pick something up, you are not prohibited from coming to campus, but we ask that you take great care and please consider any alternatives for the time being. If you do come to campus for any reason, remember that you are required to use the College's Daily Health Check System to verify that you are free of any COVID-19 symptoms or recent exposures.

Yes. You are free to do anything you wish for your own personal reasons, as long as it is not work that is assigned, either directly or implicitly, by anyone at the College.

Your work schedule should be set up based on what is needed to continue services to College students, employees and community members. Your schedule should be established by your supervisor in consultation with you. Where possible, supervisors are being asked to handle employee scheduling in ways that take into consideration potential unemployment benefits. For salaried employees, the minimum duration of a furlough is one full week (Sunday through Saturday). For hourly employees, the minimum duration of a furlough can be in one-hour increments; however, keep in mind that any pay that an employee earns during the week reduces their unemployment benefit for the same week. For this reason, it is recommended that hourly employees receive one-week furloughs at a minimum if operationally practical. In all situations, the schedule must be communicated with Human Resources so that we can ensure that College records, including pay records, are set up correctly.

HR will work with your supervisor to gather the necessary information. If you are paid based on a timesheet, you will continue to record your actual time worked. If you are salaried and recording your time on a leave report, you do not need to record the furlough on the leave report.

During this time, employees may use vacation accruals to take time away from work. Employees may also elect to cash out vacation between now and September 1 as a way to use vacation to make up some (or all) of the pay that would have potentially been earned during this time. This is a one-time window.

Sick time may be used to maintain earnings for a day when an employee cannot perform their assigned work due to illness but cannot be used to replace earnings for days spent out on partial furlough or work interruption during this period.

On April 7, the city of Los Angeles passed a public order for Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Due to COVID-19. Sick time may be used to maintain earnings for a day when an employee cannot perform their assigned work due to illness but cannot be used to replace earnings for days spent out on furlough.

If you took a furlough prior to August, took vacation time to continue pay, and your position has been identified as requiring a partial furlough, the College will return the vacation accrual used in the July furlough to your vacation account.

Everyone who files for unemployment benefits first sets up an account with the state Employment Development Department (EDD) and makes an initial claim. The HR office can help you set up that account and is available to help you make an appointment to set up the initial claim.

Once the unemployment claim is set up, you can “reopen” your claim via the EDD. This claim reopening is designed to be an expedited process in relation to the time needed to set up the initial claim. Directions on what is required can be found at the EDD website.