Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is poised to roll out a "salary reduction and closure day" plan to deal with the impact of across-the-board budget cuts that are set to go into effect Friday, lab Director Parney Albright told employees at an all-hands meeting yesterday. With the lab facing a potential $120 million shortfall, Albright detailed the potential plan in a recent memo to employees, outlining a plan that would temporarily reduce salaries for employees by 10 percent and bi-weekly closure days for full-time employees in which the lab would operate every other Friday similar to how it runs on a weekend. The plan could go into effect as soon as the week of March 10, but Albright said the lab might wait until after a Congress decides how it will fund the government after a Continuing Resolution expires March 27. “I realize any program involving a salary reduction is difficult for employees, but this plan would have less impact on employee benefits than a traditional furlough program,” Albright said. “This plan also mitigates concerns about the ability to maintain continuous business operations and, especially, safe operations in an environment of unpredictable staffing, while still reflecting the fact that work scope must change when the Lab’s funding has been reduced.”
Alternate work schedules also would be temporarily suspended under the plan, and Parney said the lab is proposing to suspend the planned increase (from 5 percent to 7 percent) in employee contributions to the lab’s TCP1 pension plan. Benefits like 401(k) contributions, life insurance, vacation and sick leave payout would also be subject to the 10 percent reduction, Albright said. He said the lab is also considering restrictions on travel, reducing or canceling a Variable Compensation Program, and reducing procurements, overtime and on-call pay. Albright emphasized that the program was not a typical furlough plan. “While sequestration may require us to temporarily reduce salaries and working hours, I felt it was important to look for ways to minimize impact to employees’ benefits, such as vacation and sick leave, to the greatest extent possible,” he said.
