COVID-19 Employment Actions
Georgetown University announced a set of actions to reduce expenses to respond to the impact of COVID-19 for the Fiscal Year 2021 budget with the goal of putting the institution in the strongest position to protect our academic and research mission, maintain our workforce, and support important programs such as student financial aid, the COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund for Students, and the GUCares Employee Emergency Fund.
The university will continue its previously announced employment actions: pausing salary increases and new hiring, and voluntary salary reduction for senior leadership..
New employment actions include the temporary suspension of the university’s retirement contributions and the implementation of a voluntary furlough program and a voluntary salary reduction program. These actions are described in detail below.
The Department of Human Resources and Office of Faculty and Staff Benefits will host informational webinars to discuss the Voluntary Furlough Program and upcoming changes to the University contribution toward the 403(b) retirement plan. There will be plenty of time for questions. Click the time and date to join the webinar:
Temporary Suspension of University Contributions to Defined Contribution Retirement Plan
Effective June 18*, the University will suspend its contribution (base and matching) to the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan 403(b). This suspension of employer contributions is anticipated to be in place through June 30, 2021.
*Suspension to 403(b) contributions for members of 1199SEIU will begin in July.
Voluntary Furlough Program
In light of the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our University community, Georgetown is implementing a Voluntary Furlough Program from May 25, 2020, through July 26, 2020, based on ability to perform available work, as outlined in the Voluntary Furlough Guidelines. This includes both positions for which there is an inability to work and positions for which there has been a reduction in the amount of available work.
A furlough is a temporary unpaid leave, during which affected individuals remain Georgetown employees and continue to receive certain University benefits. Staff and AAP employees, including both hourly and exempt employees, are eligible to participate in the Voluntary Furlough Program, as well as 12-month faculty at both the Law Center and Medical Center. More details regarding benefits eligibility during the furlough can be found in the FAQ below.
Staff and AAPs interested in applying for a voluntary furlough may choose whether to use accrued Paid Time Off (PTO) during the furlough period. Employees participating in the voluntary furlough program are not eligible for unemployment during the time they are using PTO.
Interested faculty, staff and AAPs should apply using the forms listed below. Please note you will need to log in with your Georgetown NetID and password to access the application.
- Staff/AAP Voluntary Furlough Application
- 12-Month Faculty Voluntary Furlough Application
- Volunteer Furlough Program Guidelines
- Voluntary Furlough Program Guidance for Managers
- FAQ
Voluntary Salary Reduction
Many Georgetown employees have asked how you can help to strengthen the institution during this time, and to support the University’s ability to protect as many jobs for as long as possible. The voluntary salary reduction program is one way that faculty, staff, and AAPs can help support Georgetown at this time.
This program will allow any employee to designate a reduction amount or percentage in their annual salary, while maintaining all benefits, that will run through the date of their choosing, any time until the end of the next fiscal year, June 30, 2021.
A voluntary cut in salary will help put the institution in the strongest position to protect our academic and research mission. We hope that voluntary savings will allow the university to support and maintain funds to assist with:
- increased need for financial support for our community with important programs such as student financial aid, the COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund for Students (new window), and the GUCares Employee Emergency Fund (new window).
- loss of revenue during the summer period
- maintain our workforce and direct wage support for our colleagues whose work may be affected by changes in operations
Interested faculty, staff and AAPs should apply using the forms listed below. Please note you will need to log in with your Georgetown NetID and password to access the application.
Employees may change or stop this reduction at any time in the future by contacting the Payroll Department at payrollservices@georgetown.edu.
Both this application and any change request will not be shared with your supervisor or academic dean and will be kept confidential.