[February 20, 2009]

Effective March 1, 2009, the Staff and Academic Reduction in Time (START) Program will be modified to lower the minimum allowable reduction in time from ten percent to five percent as part of the University's effort to implement additional strategies to respond to the State budget shortfall.

The START Program is a temporary program that allows eligible employees to voluntarily reduce their time and corresponding pay from the new minimum of five percent to a maximum of 50 percent in order for the University to achieve salary savings during the budget crisis. Employees who are paid monthly may reduce their time and pay in accordance with the five percent minimum time beginning March 1, 2009, while employees who are paid bi-weekly may do so beginning March 8, 2009.

Under the program, temporary salary savings would be achieved through participants' voluntary reduction in time and corresponding pay. The program is a tool that departments may make available, at their discretion, to employees during the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010. Some departments may elect to not offer START.

The features of the proposed program are as follows:

Coverage

All full- and part-time non-probationary career ("regular status") staff employees and academic appointees (except those in faculty and student academic titles and Postdoctoral Scholars), are eligible to volunteer to reduce their time. In all cases, participation is dependent upon the approval of the department head.

Participation in the START Program for exclusively represented employees is dependent upon agreement by the applicable union.

Program Parameters

• Participants volunteer to reduce their time from a minimum of five percent to a maximum of 50 percent of full-time. However, an employee's work schedule cannot be reduced below 50 percent time in any month of participation in START.


• In return for a voluntary reduction in time, participants:
  
  
  • Accrue, on a month by month basis, vacation and sick leave credits at the rate accrued prior to the commencement of START;
  
  
  • Accrue, on a month by month basis, UCRP service credit for each month of START participation at the rate accrued prior to commencement of the program, provided that the employee is on pay status for at least 50% time (Note: service credit during participation in START would be reduced by a leave without pay or other periods of time off pay status not reflected in the START contract); and
  
  
  • Do not have their UC health and welfare, retirement, disability or survivor benefits affected by START.
  
  


• An eligible employee may participate in START more than one time, as long as participation ends by June 30, 2010.


• The time reduction under a START contract may be changed by mutual agreement of both the employee and the department head and with a minimum of 30 days advance notice.


• Participation in START may be ended by the employee or the department head with a minimum of 30 days advance notice.

Information about the program - including guidelines, questions and answers, and the START contract - is available online.

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