University of Maryland, Baltimore
Temporary Salary Reduction Plan
Frequently Asked Questions
9/18/2009 v. 1.0
A temporary salary reduction (“TSR”) is a reduction in pay that affects only this year's salary for employees (faculty and staff) subject to the TSR Plan and will not carry over into the next fiscal year.
The TSR Plan has been developed to respond to budget deficits for Fiscal Year 2010. All regular and contingent category II staff, and faculty, except those identified in Question #3 below, are included in the Plan. The Plan involves salary reductions and paid administrative leave for employees included in the Plan.
All employees on H1-B visas, contingent category I employees, adjunct faculty paid by the course, faculty who are employed in whole or in part by the VA, faculty and staff whose salary as of September 1 is supported 90% or more from externally sponsored programs, graduate research assistants, graduate teaching assistants, student employees, post-docs, residents, and fellows are excluded from the TSR Plan. Because of safety concerns, all commissioned police officers, police communications staff, and School of Pharmacy Poison Center Information Specialists are excluded.
The salary of an employee subject to the Plan will be reduced beginning with pay period 10-08 (September 27- October 10, 2009); the first reduced paychecks will be issued on October 16, 2009. The employees included in the Plan based on annualized salary as of September 1, 2009, and the amount their gross pay will be reduced, are:
| A | Under $30,000 | 1.0% |
| B | $30,000-$39,999 | 1.5% |
| C | $40,000-$49,999 | 2.0% |
| D | $50,000-$69,999 | 2.5% |
| E | $70,000-$99,999 | 3.5% |
| F | $100,000-$120,000 | 4.5% |
| G | Above $120,000 | 5.0% |
For part-time employees, see Question #8.
The University is committed to a Plan that ensures fairness. Therefore in general, employees supported by contracts, grants, or clinical revenue that are paid through issued by the University will be included in the TSR Plan. Only the State portion salary savings will be returned to the State, with the grant funded portion remaining grant. However, because of the difficulty of meeting contractual requirements of sponsored programs, this Plan excludes all faculty or staff members, 90% or more whose salary as of September 1, 2009 is from externally sponsored programs administered through the Office of Research and Development.
Yes. The campus will be closed on December 23 and 24, 2009 just prior to the official Winter Break. Employees included in the TSR Plan will receive paid administrative leave on those two days. Most campus buildings will be closed to maximize energy savings. Supervisors of employees not included in the TSR Plan must make specific assignments for those employees to work on those two days or allow them to use or personal leave.
All employees included in the TSR Plan with annualized salaries above $30,000 will entitled to receive additional paid administrative leave as indicated in the chart below. This administrative leave is in addition to the administrative leave that will be given December 23 and 24, 2009. Under this Plan, an administrative leave day is defined hours.
| A | 0 | 0 |
| B | 1 | 8 |
| C | 2 | 16 |
| D | 4 | 32 |
| E | 6 | 48 |
| F | 7 | 56 |
| G | 8 | 64 |
For part-time employees, see Question #8.
For part-time employees, the required temporary salary reduction will be prorated as follows: A part-time employee’s salary will be calculated for the full-time equivalency to determine the appropriate salary level in the Plan at which the employee will participate. The full-time equivalent salary is then prorated for the employee’s percentage FTE to determine the salary reduction and the number of administrative leave days the employee will receive.
Example: An employee who is appointed to a .5 FTE and earns $20,000 would have the appointment projected to 1.0 FTE and the salary calculated at 100% or $40,000 to determine the salary level at which the employee would participate in the TSR Plan. This employee would be in salary category C and would receive a temporary salary reduction of 2.0%. The 2.0% temporary salary reduction would be applied to the employee’s .5 FTE salary of $20,000. In category C, the employee would receive two (2) additional days of administrative leave pro-rated on the .5 FTE as one (1) full day of leave (8 hours of leave).
No. Classes may not be cancelled as part of the Plan. Essential services, including class schedules, necessary student services, and patient care activities will be maintained.
Generally, no. Non–essential employees included in the Plan must take administrative leave on those two days. Included employees who are notified in writing by their supervisors that they are “essential” during the general closure must work as assigned and will be permitted up to two days of administrative leave, depending on their full or parttime status, on an alternate scheduled date(s) prior to June 30, 2010. Employees not included in the TSR Plan should work as assigned or use annual or personal leave; see Question #6.
The salary of included employees will be reduced beginning with pay period 10-08 (September 27 – October 10, 2009); the pay reduction will continue through June 30, 2010 (pay period 11 - 01). The first reduced paychecks will be issued on October 16, 2009. All included employees will be assigned administrative leave for December 23 and 24. Included employees in Categories B-G shall receive the indicated additional administrative leave as of September 27, 2009. Administrative leave must be used by June 30, 2010.
No. The salary reduction is based on the employee’s salary as of September 1, 2009. Salary adjustments made retroactively to affect salary prior to September 1, 2009 will not affect an employee’s participation in the TSR Plan.
For staff, requests to use the additional administrative leave should be directed to the supervisor. Staff administrative leave will be subject to the request and approval process for leave of the employee’s school or unit. Supervisors are responsible to schedule administrative leave based on operational needs to ensure that services are maintained. Operations permitting, supervisors should give reasonable consideration to schedule administrative leave days when the employee requests them.
Faculty administrative leave will be managed as directed by the school.
All additional administrative leave must be used between September 27, 2009 and June 30, 2010; it may not be carried over to FY2011. Administrative leave not used by June 30, 2010 will be forfeited and employees will not be compensated for the administrative leave time not used.
No. Similar to personal leave, there is no pay-out for unused administrative leave.
The TSR Plan applies to these employees. Pay will be reduced under the Plan and use of administrative leave days should be reported as discussed in these FAQs and the Plan.
If the unpaid leave is scheduled during a pay period in which the employee would have been subject to a pay reduction, the employee has no salary reduction for that pay period. If the employee returns to a paid status while the TSR Plan is in effect, the employee will be subject to the TSR Plan during the remaining pay periods under the Plan and will receive prorated administrative leave.
Employees hired on or after September 1, 2009 are excluded from the Plan.
The Plan will not affect benefits, including mandatory retirement, health or accrual of leave.
The TSR Plan will have no impact to the employee’s Mandatory Retirement Plan (defined benefits plan through the Maryland State Retirement Agency or the defined contribution Optional Retirement Plan). The employee’s contribution and/or UMB's contribution will remain the same despite the reduction in the employee’s paycheck.
Supplemental Retirement Account(s)/SRA (403b, 457b, 401k through Fidelity, Nationwide & TIAA-CREF) contributions (solely the employee’s contributions & match monies for Employees' Pension Plan participants) will automatically stop if the amount the employee is contributing will be greater than the amount of the employee’s net paycheck. Please note: This will not impact the vast majority of employees; however, employees with an SRA who may be impacted should contact Benefits, Human Resource Services, for assistance at 410-706-2616.
No. Employees and their supervisors may not request or authorize payroll adjustments retroactively to substitute administrative leave under the TSR Plan for paid or unpaid leave used prior to September 27, 2009.
No.
Faculty are responsible for scheduling administrative leave subject to administrative oversight and approval as required under School procedures. Classes and clinical schedules may not be cancelled in order to schedule administrative leave.
Faculty should note administrative leave use with the WRS exempt code (see answer to Question #25) on their monthly faculty report of days worked and leave used.
All 10-month faculty are paid over 12 months. The salary reduction and the administrative leave amount will be based on the 12-month biweekly salary.
It is expected that most questions can be resolved within the school/department administration. For questions that cannot be answered at that level, please contact the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, (410) 706 – 1850.
Staff should record hours of administrative leave on the biweekly timesheet on the day the leave is scheduled and taken. The hours should be recorded as paid administrative leave in the appropriate Other Paid Leave Hours block on the timesheet. Exempt employees will use the code WRS and non-exempt employees will use the code WRH. Examples of properly completed timesheets are posted to the Human Resources website.
Staff should contact their school/department payroll representative. However, for salary reduction questions, please contact Human Resource Services, Employee/Labor Relations, at (410) 706 – 7302.
