Regents Approve Furloughs for 22,000 Workers

The Board of Regents for Maryland's state university system authorized short-term furloughs yesterday for more than 22,000 employees, and directed campus presidents to devise plans designed to save a total of $16 million.

The regents told campus officials not to let unpaid leave that could total as much as five days for some employees disrupt classes if at all possible, but stopped short of prohibiting it. Campus presidents said they need flexibility as they work through a tangle of state and federal regulations that govern employees at the 15 University System of Maryland institutions.

The regents were responding to the furlough program that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has proposed as the state addresses a $200 million mid-fiscal-year deficit. University leaders said they were bracing for more cuts. "Who knows what's going to happen over the course of this fiscal year," said Chancellor William E. Kirwan.

The furlough plans will take quite a bit of logistical juggling, because campus presidents must balance their responsibilities to students and employees along with the academic calendar, labor laws, union demands and realities such as the limitations of payroll software.

Employees could be asked to take as many as five days off without pay, with higher-paid employees facing the longest furloughs, according to the plans. Low-wage workers could be exempt.

At the flagship campus in College Park, officials have considered shutting the campus for an extra day or more during spring break, which would save energy in unused buildings and allow furloughs of staff other than essential employees such as food and security workers.

But President C.D. Mote Jr. said at yesterday's meeting that he might be limited to one furlough day per pay period for each employee.