Dear UC Berkeley Faculty and Staff,
After much consideration and consultation with my leadership team and others, we have decided for now to postpone implementation of the Salary and Time Reduction Program (also known as the Reduction in Time and Furlough Plans) until at least July 1, 2021.
Several factors figured into this decision, including a slightly more favorable federal funding picture, which, while helpful in paying for some COVID-related expenses, is payment of one-time stimulus funds that cannot be used to solve our ongoing budgetary challenges. We are also continuing to study the financial and operational implications for exempting research scientists (faculty and staff) paid exclusively via contracts and grants.
I don’t want this to send a signal that we are out of the woods in terms of budget challenges; we most assuredly are not. We are still projected to end this fiscal year with a $160 million budget deficit and project a deficit of approximately $75 million next year, so austerity will continue to be required. We will keep other budget-saving programs in place such as the hiring freeze, merit and step increase freeze, and voluntary time and pay decreases.
Between now and July 1, we will continue to work through the complexities of instituting a campus-wide salary and time reduction program and investigate additional budget-relieving opportunities. If you have taken furlough days already, they will be converted to paid administrative time off. My leadership colleagues and I will continue to keep you apprised of our ongoing budget discussions and decisions.
Thank you for your continued patience and flexibility as we navigate this ever-changing landscape.
This message has been sent to all UC Berkley faculty and staff.
If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.
