ECU announces furloughs for some employees

Because revenues have declined significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, East Carolina University is placing some employees who work in impacted departments on furlough.

This does not affect all ECU employees.

At this time, employees are being furloughed who work in departments that have experienced significant revenue declines in Administration & Finance and Academic Affairs. At this time, 25 employees are being furloughed in these two areas. Some employees will be placed on furlough for a set number of days while others will be on full furlough for the remainder of the fiscal year. ECU’s plan for these furloughs to address revenue reductions has been reviewed and approved in accordance to UNC System guidelines.

“The university continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple ways. Our current estimate for fall is more than $25 million in decreased revenue. We’re in the process of issuing prorated refunds for housing, dining and parking and have had other revenue streams adversely affected. Across campus, the reduced demand for employee services and such a large disruption to revenues has forced an institutional response,” said Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson.

“This is a hard decision. No one likes this outcome; we’ve tried to reassign employees in affected units to vacancies in other university divisions when possible. Unfortunately, there may be additional furloughs announced in the coming weeks,” he said.

Units that provide auxiliary services rely on the sale of goods or services to fund their operations; state law does not allow ECU to use tuition or state-appropriated funds to cover any revenue shortfall in these units. ECU’s fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30.

ECU Human Resources is working with affected employees and providing them with information, guidelines and FAQs related to furloughs.

Furloughs may include salary reductions or leave without pay. Employees will receive information from HR about benefits when notified; furloughed employees are still eligible to participate in the State Health Plan and they continue to accrue leave.

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