Furloughs and the Law

Six months ago, the word "furlough" was a hazy term that few of us understood or cared about. Today, we're vividly conscious of its meaning. And with that consciousness comes questions. Are these legal? How can they be implemented? MSNBC has a story that delves into this nicely (though raising as many questions as answers).

Clearly furloughs are anything but simple alternatives to layoffs. As a result of the recent furlough-mania, I’ve been getting many questions from readers about their rights:

• Can I be furloughed if I’m salaried?
• Can I file for unemployment insurance when I’m on furlough?
• What if I work a bit while on furlough?

Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are not clear-cut, and some vary by state. Even getting guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor on furloughs has not been easy.

I repeatedly asked Labor Department officials, via telephone and e-mail, specific questions on furloughs and employee rights, and it took nearly a month to get a straight answer....

Furloughs and exempt employees
Administrative and professional employees who are exempt from overtime and paid a yearly salary can be furloughed, but there are restrictions on how furloughs can be conducted. (There are few, if any, restrictions on furloughing hourly workers.)

The way the nation’s labor laws are written, an employee who is exempt from overtime and covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid for a full week of work even if they do not work one or two days during that week.

So, if your employer asks you to work on Monday and Tuesday, but sends you home without pay for the rest of the week, under labor laws the employee could lose his or her exempt status, meaning, the worker would now be eligible for overtime....

Furloughs and unemployment benefits
It may sound counterintuitive, but even though you haven’t actually lost your job and you’re just on furlough, there’s a good chance you’re eligible for unemployment.

“The general rule is if you’re laid off for more than one week you can obtain unemployment,” Dixon says.

Furloughs and doing work
When you are furloughed, that means you do not work. It’s as simple as that. If your manager expects you to work when you’re out on furlough, whether you are salaried or hourly, you must be paid for your work....

Bottom line: Furloughs shouldn’t be an excuse for not paying workers what they’re owed. However, they may continue to be a necessary evil.

Read the whole article here.