Temporary FY21 Salary Reduction Plan for Unclassified Employees
Does that $50K base apply for everyone?
Yes. The rates are marginal and applied by bracket. The first $50,000 is excluded.
What would be the effective date of the salary reduction?
September 1, 2020. For OSU’s senior executives (including the president, provost, vice presidents, general counsel, deans, vice provosts, and others) the reduction program was implemented July 1 and is anticipated to be in effect for a minimum of six months.
Since reductions start September, if 9-month appointments are paid from external grants over summer, will the reduction start mid Sept when back on Academic apt?
The reduction is effective September 1st for 12-month faculty and September 15th for 9-month faculty. If the employee is exempt from the salary reduction for any of the reasons noted the reduction would not apply. For grants, if the pay is 100% from external grants in May 2020 and is in a fixed-term position it would be excluded. If it is split across funds the reduction would apply.
How long is the Salary Reduction Program expected to last?
The temporary pay reduction for OSU’s senior executives will be in effect for a minimum of six months. For other employees, the reduction will be terminated if the financial situation improves sufficiently that it is no longer needed (the gap between revenues and expenses is less than $35M).
If $50,001 is the floor for the salary reduction program, then will anyone have their salary reduced to below this level? E.g., if someone earns $50,040 and they received the reduction, then they will earn <$50,000. It's small, but meaningful for those in the fringe area.
No, the rates are marginal. So, in the example only the $40 over $50,000 would be reduced and the ending salary would be $50,037.
How will the salary reduction program apply to employees who are not on 100% appointments? Do the thresholds apply to the annual salary rate (assuming 1.0 FTE) or the appointment salary rate? An example would be an 0.8 FTE employee who has an annual salary rate of $60K and an appointment salary rate of $48K - would that employee be part of the salary reduction program?
The temporary reduction applies to the annual salary rate. Annual Salary Rate is defined as the salary equivalent of this job at full time (100% appointment)1. So, the 0.8 FTE employee at a salary rate of $60K would be included. The salary rate would change to $59,140 and the pay at 0.8 FTE would be $47,312.
1 https://hr.oregonstate.edu/employees/administrators-supervisors/classifi...
If employee has 1.0 full-time appointment and on mixed funding, example: 40% on grant funds, 60% on carryforward/ROH funds, what does a salary reduction look like for them?
The program exempts employees 100% on grant funds as of May 2020. In this case, since the employee is not paid 100% on grant funds the employee is eligible for the salary reduction.
Can furloughs be used for unclassified employees in lieu of salary reduction with same work load?
No, the decision was made to use salary reductions as a temporary measure to address the financial challenges but maintain services to students for the limited duration of the pandemic.
Can employees or supervisors opt for FTE reductions instead of the salary reduction?
No, not in lieu of the salary reduction. In some self-support units there is language in non-renewal letters that allow for FTE reductions if the financial circumstances of the unit worsen significantly.
If folks have a reduction in FTE, will that affect eligibility for childcare such as at Beaver Beginnings?
No, employees will still have access to the same services.
Is a salary cut coming down the pike for classified staff?
No. There is a Letter of Agreement between OSU and SEIU – Alternatives to Layoffs for Oregon State University:
https://hr.oregonstate.edu/sites/hr.oregonstate.edu/files/seiu_osu_loa_l...
If someone leaves the university during this period of reduced salary, is the vacation payout at the original salary or the reduced salary?
Human Resources is confirming this. In the current process, the vacation payout would be calculated utilizing the rate at the time of the vacation payout which in this example would be at the reduced salary rate.
Why will part of the salary of an otherwise 100% grant-funded fixed-term employee be shifted to institutional funds?
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) dictates that 100% grant-funded individuals are exempt from the salary reduction. However, this creates conflict with federal regulations related to grant funds. In particular, federal regulations necessitate that salary compensation for individuals needs to be consistent across funding sources, federal or otherwise. Hence, the institution cannot reduce the pay rate of an individual paid on institutional funds but keep the pay rate of an equivalent individual who is paid by grant funds unchanged. Given the need to comply with both the CBA and the federal regulations, the institution will only charge the federal government the reduced pay rates but make institutional resources available to assure that 100% grant-funded fixed-term employees do not experience a pay reduction.