FAQs for Supervisors of Furloughed Employees

What should I be doing to prepare for the furloughs in my department?

A primary goal is to use the week prior to the furlough effective date to work with your staff to assure that pending work can be appropriately handled during the furlough period. Please engage with the furloughed staff on all current and pending matters, the existence and location of files and other information, and prepare your plan on how this work will be handled through the furlough period. Bear in mind that furloughed staff are not being terminated, and we hope for their cooperation and professionalism as we prepare for the furloughs.

I have staff who were recently furloughed. Is there paperwork I need to complete to place them on this unpaid leave?

No. Human Resources will update the status in the HR databases and communicate with all departments that need to know (i.e. University Systems, Public Safety, Telephone Services, etc.). Human Resources will also reactivate furloughed employees upon their return.

Can I contact my staff during this furlough period if I have a question about work?

No! Furloughed employees cannot engage in any work or work-related activity during this period, including, but not limited to, reading, sending or receiving work-related emails or text messages, or participating on work-related calls during this furlough period. The University will restrict the employee’s systems access, including Office 365 and Colleague (if applicable). NOTE: If a specific email needs to be retrieved from a furloughed employee’s email account during the furlough period, notify Maureen Rotker in the Office of Human Resources (maureenr@fdu.edu), who will work directly with University Systems to attempt to access the email. There is no guarantee that an email can be retrieved, as the furloughed employee might have deleted it.

What do I do if my furloughed staff have files at home? How do I retrieve this information?

Please contact your staff members immediately to arrange for the return of any pertinent files and obtain any updates on projects they may have been working on. Supervisors need to plan on obtaining any information that may be needed prior to the furlough end date.

Can my furloughed staff keep any University property that they may have at home (e.g. computer, printer, cell phone)?

Yes. Furloughed staff who have University property in their possession have been informed that they can retain this equipment. Employees are instructed to safely store equipment. Upon their return to active status and to campus, employees are instructed to return with the equipment.

What happens to email accounts of furloughed staff?

Email and other systems access will be suspended effective 5:00 PM on the last day worked prior to their furlough effective date. A generic automatic reply will be generated for email responses. Supervisors will be assigned systems access of their furloughed staff and have all email forwarded to their account UNLESS they make the determination to redirect access to another active employee. If you wish to redirect access to an alternate staff member, please send an email request to Rose D’Ambrosio in the Office of Human Resources (dambrosi@fdu.edu) no later than the last day worked for the furloughed employee.

What happens to their phone extension and voice mail? If employees forwarded their phone extensions remotely, how can we redirect these extensions?

Please be advised that Voice Services will disable the call forward associated with the assigned extension to the furloughed employee, end of business on the last day worked prior to the furlough date. Furloughed employee’s voicemail feature will be turned off during the furlough period. If there are additional phone extensions that are currently being forwarded to a furloughed staff member, those will have to be identified. Supervisors must communicate with their staff during the week prior to the furlough effective date to ensure all call forward extensions have been identified. 

Supervisors can request call forwarding to an alternate active employee in the department or a generic department extension if one exists, by contacting Maureen Rotker in the Office of Human Resources (maureenr@fdu.edu), no later than the last day the employee works prior to the furlough effective date. Also, supervisors should instruct impacted employees to clear their voice message inbox on the last day worked prior to the furlough effective date.

How do I manage submitting absence reports for furloughed staff?

All absences through last day worked prior to the furlough effective date must be reported. However, as the Time and Attendance System will not be available for the furloughed employee to submit reports, it is imperative that you send an email to Maureen Rotker (maureenr@fdu.edu) to report any vacation, sick or personal time that your furloughed employee may have taken during the time period leading up to the furlough effective date. Please forward this information on the last day the employee works prior to furlough.

How do I handle any requests from furloughed staff regarding retrieving any personal items from their office?

Furloughed staff can obtain personal items prior to the last day of the fall semester, Tuesday, November 24, 2020. Thereafter, we cannot provide campus access to furloughed staff to obtain personal items.

Who do I contact for more information?

Please contact Rose D’Ambrosio, Vice President of Human Resources, for any general questions related to the unpaid furlough at dambrosi@fdu.edu. Stefanie Miller, Director of Employee Benefits & Training, should receive all questions related to employee benefits, and can be reached at smiller@fdu.edu. Maureen Rotker, HRIS Analyst, should receive all inquiries related to redirecting systems access at maureenr@fdu.edu.