§ 3.04.070. Voluntary furlough.

A.

Subject to any applicable board of supervisors' policy, a voluntary furlough may be granted to employees who desire to assist their agency/department in coping with budgetary constraints.

B.

An agency/department head whose current or projected funding level for any budget organization within the agency/department, which in the opinion of the executive office, will not sustain the current agency/department staffing level, may advise employees of the entire agency/department that they are eligible for voluntary furloughs. A simple announcement and/or posting or printing of the furlough provisions shall be the limit of such publication by the agency/department, without any promotional campaign or pressure on employees to participate. In agencies/departments which are not identified by the executive office as constrained in budget to an extent to warrant voluntary furloughs, the employees of such agency/department are not eligible to be granted a voluntary furlough.

C.

A voluntary furlough may be granted to regular employees under the conditions specified in this subsection. Hours taken as voluntary furlough shall be counted separately from any leave of absence which may be granted, so a furlough does not reduce the number of hours which an agency/department may grant as a leave of absence, nor does it reduce the number of hours which may be granted as an official leave of absence. An employee may be granted a furlough of eight hours up to two hundred forty (240) hours in any one fiscal year period, July through June, in increments of full shifts.

D.

Furlough hours shall not be paid hours, but the fact that there is a reduction from full time in the number of hours of paid status in any pay period in which a furlough is taken shall not constitute a part-time status for the purpose of the calculation and entitlement of any benefit. A full time employee on furlough shall continue to receive the full employee benefits over which the county has control. A furlough shall not be taken during temporary military duty, other than weekend drills.

E.

A furlough may be requested by the employee on a form or in a format prescribed by the human resources director. The request shall be submitted to the agency/department head through appropriate channels, and shall require the agency/department head's approval. The agency/department head may deny the furlough request when in their judgment the employee cannot be spared from duty, for operational reasons. Furlough records shall be kept by the agency/department, and a copy shall be sent to the human resources department - employee benefits and records.

(Ord. No. 440.1761, § 7, 9-15-2015; Ord. No. 440.1762, § 7, 1-5-2016)