Campus Connection

Media Credit: University System of Maryland

Officials of the University of Maryland, Baltimore have implemented a plan to furlough faculty and staff in response to a state-mandated payroll reduction. 

Most employees of the university who earn greater than $30,000 per year will be required to take up to five furlough days according to a tiered scale dependent on salary level.  Graduate teaching assistants, graduate research assistants, clinical and postdoctoral fellows, H1-B visa holders, and campus police and security officers are exempt from the furlough.   

In December 2008, Governor Martin O’Malley announced a plan to furlough state workers in order to address a mounting budget shortfall.  In response, the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland directed all state-funded colleges and universities to develop furlough plans in an effort to reduce the system-wide payroll budget by nearly $16 million, which included $2.7 million in payroll cuts from UMB. 

UMB employees whose salaries are funded in any part from clinical revenue will be subject to the furlough plan, with any salary savings retained by the employee’s clinical department.  Similarly, employees who are paid from grants and contracts will also be expected to adhere to the furlough plan with subsequent savings applied to their respective accounts. 

Furlough days will be applied at a rate of four hours per biweekly pay period beginning on February 1, 2009.  Classes are expected to remain unaffected by the furlough.

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