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A Furlough Informational Plan is a plan that includes information on the reason for a furlough, the geographical areas, organizational units, classes, and positions affected by the furlough, the number of hours per week affected employees will be furloughed, the funding sources associated with positions affected by the furlough, the criteria used for identifying the contents of the furlough plan, estimated start and stop dates, and cost savings associated with the furlough. A Furlough Informational Plan must be approved by the Secretary of Administration and, once approved and prior to implementation, posted on the agency official bulletin boards. A Furlough Plan Activation Request is a written request to the Secretary of Administration to put into effect an approved Furlough Informational Plan. The Furlough Activation Request contains specific information about employees and positions affected by the furlough. A Furlough Activation Request relates to a specific Furlough Informational Plan. The Request must be approved by the Secretary of Administration and implemented within five days of approval. The employee and employer share of the Health Plan premium remains the same, as long as the furlough does not exceed 30 consecutive days without pay. Direct bill coverage will begin the first day of the month following the 30th day of leave without pay. The employee will pay the entire monthly premium (employee and State portions) while on Direct Bill coverage. A furlough of 31 consecutive days or longer constitutes an allowable mid-year change, which enables an employee to drop insurance coverage for themselves and/or dependents. The cost for the Health Plan premium is collected by the agency from an employee who is on furlough. Collections are on an after-tax basis. The agency submits the payment to the Division of Accounts and Reports-Payroll. A furlough of 30 consecutive days or less does not constitute a family status change for the Health Care and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts. An employee may be furloughed on a volunteer basis, only if the agency’s Furlough Informational Plan provides the option. No furlough plan is required for unclassified employees. Unclassified employees may be furloughed at will. While it is not required, it is permissible for agencies to include information on unclassified positions and employees in the agency Furlough Informational Plan. Unclassified exempt employees must be furloughed in full-day increments. For the purposes of pay, exempt employees who are furloughed for a partial week will be treated as a non-exempt, hourly employee. Classified and unclassified employees who are furloughed may be eligible for unemployment benefits when they have became partially unemployed (i.e., hours worked have been reduced). Eligibility is based on Kansas Employment Security Law. Upon being furloughed, an employee may file a claim or contact the Kansas Department of Human Resources at 1-800-292-6333 for additional information concerning eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. If an employee is furloughed due to a federal funding shortage and funds are received after the furlough has begun, the employee may be repaid compensation once the federal funding is restored. A description of the method that will be used to restore compensation reductions due to a shortage of federal funds is to be included in the agency's Furlough Informational Plan and Furlough Activation Plan Request. Furloughs do not affect the number of holidays an employee is to receive. In the example cited, employees are given the holiday credit for the two-day authorized holiday, work 1.5 days and are furloughed for the remaining1.5 days in the workweek. The agency must follow the parameters set out in their approved Furlough Informational Plan. If the approved Furlough Informational Plan states that the employee will be furloughed 1.5 days per workweek, the agency must follow the approved Furlough Informational Plan. The scenario above would not be consistent with the agency's approved Furlough Informational Plan. An agency Furlough Informational Plan may be modified and approved, as needed. Furlough is defined as leave without pay for a preset number of hours during each pay period covered by the furlough plan. Compensatory time or holiday compensatory time can not be used in-lieu-of furlough. The FLSA status for exempt employees who are furloughed must be temporarily changed to non-exempt status for the duration of the furlough and during that time, those employees are governed by all FLSA rules and regulations pertaining to non-exempt employees. This means that the employee could be furloughed in quarter-hour increments, not just in half or full-day increments since their FLSA status is changed to non-exempt during that week. The employee must be treated in all other respects as a non-exempt employee during these weeks. For example, the employee must fill out a time document for the week, must use leave in quarter hour increments and is eligible for overtime compensation should the employee exceed the overtime threshold. The Earnings Codes used in SHARP, for both non-exempt, and exempt employees who are non-exempt due to furlough, is FU1. A composite rate is charged each agency for every full time employee. Therefore, an employee would be required to pay a portion of the cost, whether they are a full time or part-time employee. The issue is not how the employer contribution is funded, using state general fund or federal funds, but whether the employer contribution is paid at the full rate or the part time rate. Full rate is 90%-100% time normally scheduled to work. Part-time rate is 50%-89%. Senate Bill 509 provides that if the compensation of any state employee is reduced due to a furlough, then for the purpose of computing retirement or death disability benefits under KPERS, the original base compensation before the reduction would be used to compute benefits.
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