{"id":52248,"date":"2020-05-12T13:43:38","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T20:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=52248"},"modified":"2020-05-12T13:43:38","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T20:43:38","slug":"a-way-to-make-covid-19-college-furloughs-more-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/a-way-to-make-covid-19-college-furloughs-more-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"A way to make COVID-19 college furloughs more fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

When the state of California\u00a0cut funding to the University of California system by US$619.3 million<\/a>, or 19%, in the wake of the 2008-09 recession, the leaders of the UC system tried to spread the resulting economic pain to its employees in a fair way. More specifically, employees with bigger salaries took on larger cuts \u2013 10% of their salaries at the top end \u2013 while those with smaller salaries faced smaller hits \u2013 4% at the bottom end. The cuts also came with workload reductions, which were essentially furloughs.<\/p>\n

In presenting the progressive furlough plan, the UC president at the time explained that it was all about\u00a0shared sacrifice<\/a>. This approach, along with hiring freezes and other measures,\u00a0helped the UC system weather the crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities across the nation may be confronting financial challenges even greater than those the University of California faced a decade ago. By some estimates,\u00a0up to 20% of schools may go out of business<\/a>\u00a0by the time the pandemic runs its course. Many more are expected to be badly crippled financially.<\/p>\n

While the success of the UC\u2019s progressive furlough strategy offers a model for how colleges and universities can shore up their finances, with a few\u00a0exceptions<\/a>, it\u2019s not the route that many schools appear to be taking, based on a review of news articles reporting on the steps schools are taking.<\/p>\n

Rather, the option being pursued by wealthy private schools like\u00a0Washington University in St. Louis<\/a>, less affluent public schools like\u00a0Western Michigan University<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 where I work \u2013 and religiously affiliated institutions like\u00a0Marquette University<\/a>\u00a0involves distinguishing two types of employees – the essential and the nonessential.<\/p>\n

Needed vs. not needed<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This two-pronged strategy starts by defining essential employees as those whose work needs to be done now. Essential employees include, for instance, those who are actively teaching classes as well as high-level administrators, and campus police to protect school property. This group continues with their daily duties \u2013 though, often doing so remotely \u2013 and they keep receiving full pay and benefits.<\/p>\n

The nonessential group, which makes up a\u00a0significant share<\/a>\u00a0of these schools\u2019 workforces, isn\u2019t so lucky.<\/p>\n

With campuses shuttered and classes moved online, these employees \u2013 from the department assistants who help students with their schedules, to the custodians and groundskeepers who keep the campus clean \u2013 face reduced workloads with corresponding reductions in pay.<\/p>\n

While this strategy may help schools weather the financial crisis, the UC system\u2019s progressive furlough model shows that there\u2019s another way – one that aligns with these institutions\u2019 expressed commitments to social justice for their\u00a0employees<\/a>\u00a0and their\u00a0communities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0moral philosopher<\/a>\u00a0who examines the\u00a0dynamics around making difficult decisions<\/a>, I believe that progressive furloughs are a morally better choice.<\/p>\n

Spreading the economic pain<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Most obviously, when a school\u2019s workforce is divided into essential and nonessential, the hardship and stress of reduced pay only hits some employees. In some cases, these pay cuts may be manageable. But in many others, they will be severe. In fact,\u00a0at some schools<\/a>, 30% of employees now find themselves on unpaid leave through the summer.<\/p>\n

To make up for their lost wages, nonessential employees will need to draw on their vacation time and sick day allocations. In\u00a0some cases<\/a>, they may still be able to file for unemployment. To their credit, some schools have bolstered these leave balances with\u00a0special COVID-19 leave time<\/a>. But this additional leave time will only go so far.<\/p>\n

Further, once this leave time has been exhausted, these employees are placed on unpaid leave, losing not just their paycheck, but sometimes also their\u00a0regular health care insurance benefits<\/a>. School leaders are sensitive to these risks and have been soliciting contributions for newly created\u00a0relief funds for employees<\/a>\u00a0affected by the pandemic. But voluntary efforts like these can only do so much.<\/p>\n

The case for help<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Of course, some may wonder why schools should pay employees when there\u2019s no work for them to do. But this thought assumes that these are ordinary times and that these institutions are ordinary employers.<\/p>\n

However, the toll from the pandemic is unprecedented. And most colleges and universities \u2013 with their\u00a0commitment to social justice<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 have accepted a leadership role in protecting the\u00a0livelihood and well-being<\/a>\u00a0of their\u00a0employees<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0contractors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The University of California system again provides an example of how colleges and universities can keep their commitment. The progressive furlough plan at the University of California system\u00a0provided exemptions<\/a>\u00a0to some of the lowest earners: graduate students (like me at the time) and other student workers.<\/p>\n

Challenges remain<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Though I see progressive furloughs as a more equitable way for higher education to address its financial challenges, saying that does not mean that doing it will be easy, or that furloughs alone will be enough.<\/p>\n

It could be challenging to ensure that all employees have a say in how the furloughs are structured. Some groups will be able to do this through their unions, but accommodations will be needed for those who lack union representation.<\/p>\n

While bringing in these employee representatives could complicate negotiations, all participants in these discussions would do well to ask themselves this ethical question: Would I rather accept a modest, temporary reduction in my pay, or see my \u201cnonessential\u201d colleague placed on unpaid leave?<\/p>\n

There may also be a larger lesson here. Colleges and universities are not alone in facing financial challenges brought on by the pandemic. While progressively structured furloughs may not work for every part of the economy, the ideal they embody \u2013 the principle of shared sacrifice \u2013 surely applies beyond the walls of academia.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Charlie Kurth is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Western Michigan University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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More specifically, employees with bigger salaries took on larger cuts \u2013 […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":52249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[351693],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-52248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-college-furloughs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA way to make COVID-19 college furloughs more fair - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/a-way-to-make-covid-19-college-furloughs-more-fair\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A way to make COVID-19 college furloughs more fair - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the state of California\u00a0cut funding to the University of California system by US$619.3 million, or 19%, in the wake of the 2008-09 recession, the leaders of the UC system tried to spread the resulting economic pain to its employees in a fair way. 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