Wisconsin's Vital Records office will be closed Friday. So, too, will all Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Unemployment Insurance call centers.
Is it a holiday tomorrow? No.
It's a furlough day for all employees in those departments.
By now, most people in the working world know what a furlough is. Many are, or have, experienced them in this economic recession.
A furlough is when a worker is forced to take unpaid leave from their job. Many in the private sector have been forced to take unpaid days off to help their employers' bottom lines. Furloughs are reaching the public sector, too, where budgets also are tight.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle has required all full-time, 12-month state employees to take 16 days of unpaid leave over the next two years. He did so in response to the state's projected budget shortfall.
In most private-sector businesses, workers' furlough schedules are staggered, allowing operations to continue while one or some of the employees are off. Scheduling furloughs can be difficult, for employers and employees. But everyone manages.
In state government, apparently, it's acceptable for an agency to use the furloughs as an opportunity to shut down operations completely. (And, it's worth noting that most of those days are Fridays!) Each state agency is responsible for setting its own furlough schedule, with the approval of the Office of State Employment Relations and within labor laws and negotiated contracts.
The University of Wisconsin System, for example, will use a mix of four "fixed" and four "floating" furlough days each year. UW System institutions will be closed because of furloughs for four days each year.
The furloughs were an unpleasant but necessary step for state government to take in these harsh financial times. They save money, but also show the taxpaying public that the state and its employees will make the same sacrifices private-sector employees increasingly are forced to take.
But it also should be possible for state agencies to continue operations in spite of furloughs, just as private-sector enterprises do. Particularly because it's a public service they provide, it should be a priority of state agencies to remain open - no matter how difficult that might be to manage.
Or could it be that closing up of the shop for a day is meant to draw attention to the absence of service caused by the furloughs? ...
Is it a holiday tomorrow? No.
It's a furlough day for all employees in those departments.
By now, most people in the working world know what a furlough is. Many are, or have, experienced them in this economic recession.
A furlough is when a worker is forced to take unpaid leave from their job. Many in the private sector have been forced to take unpaid days off to help their employers' bottom lines. Furloughs are reaching the public sector, too, where budgets also are tight.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle has required all full-time, 12-month state employees to take 16 days of unpaid leave over the next two years. He did so in response to the state's projected budget shortfall.
In most private-sector businesses, workers' furlough schedules are staggered, allowing operations to continue while one or some of the employees are off. Scheduling furloughs can be difficult, for employers and employees. But everyone manages.
In state government, apparently, it's acceptable for an agency to use the furloughs as an opportunity to shut down operations completely. (And, it's worth noting that most of those days are Fridays!) Each state agency is responsible for setting its own furlough schedule, with the approval of the Office of State Employment Relations and within labor laws and negotiated contracts.
The University of Wisconsin System, for example, will use a mix of four "fixed" and four "floating" furlough days each year. UW System institutions will be closed because of furloughs for four days each year.
The furloughs were an unpleasant but necessary step for state government to take in these harsh financial times. They save money, but also show the taxpaying public that the state and its employees will make the same sacrifices private-sector employees increasingly are forced to take.
But it also should be possible for state agencies to continue operations in spite of furloughs, just as private-sector enterprises do. Particularly because it's a public service they provide, it should be a priority of state agencies to remain open - no matter how difficult that might be to manage.
Or could it be that closing up of the shop for a day is meant to draw attention to the absence of service caused by the furloughs? ...
