UW-Green Bay announces furloughs during COVID-19 pandemic

GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay announced Friday it will place some staff members on furlough due to the impact the coronavirus has had on the university.

227 employees will be on furlough starting May 2 through May 31, 2020. All administrators with an annual salary above $100,000 are also taking a voluntary furlough.

Furloughs allow members of the campus community to retain their benefits, yet still be eligible for unemployment compensation.

"It is terribly unfortunate that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced our hand," said Interim Chancellor Sheryl Van Gruensven. "This disruption in our lives and our livelihood is one that is greatly disappointing, considering the amazing momentum we had heading into the 2020-21 academic year. Although our financial health is not in jeopardy at this particular time, the reality is, we lost $3 million in revenue in just the past month and we must navigate risk until we can find some level of normalcy."

Earlier this month, UW-Green Bay announced it will be offering more than 200 classes online for the summer, and cancelled on-campus summer camps, providing a number of new online and remotely delivered camp experiences, instead.

UW-Oshkosh also announced furloughs earlier this week after they were authorized by a UW System regents committee.