Following UC Davis' original announcement in September of the Davis campus closures, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique Lavernia and I received thoughtful feedback about the plan from staff, managers, faculty and Academic Senate leaders.

In addition, the UC Office of the President has provided clarification of labor contracts in relation to holiday closures and we have developed a better understanding of some of the practical issues and contractual constraints as they apply to the previously announced closure plan.

As a result of the above, we have refined our original closure plan by reducing the number of days the Davis campus will close in December.  In our original plan, we were going to close the campus December 18 - January 3, as well as March 24 and 25, and June 14 and 15.  The refined plan only shortens the December closure: the campus will now close December 24 - January 3. The March and June closure dates will remain unchanged.

This approach allows the campus to perform critical functions before the holidays and closely aligns with our historical operating conditions during this time period.  Under this plan, individual departments will have the discretion to also close from December 18 through December 23 and/or other days during the year to support the implementation of the furlough program.

During the closure periods:

1. Employees participating in the furlough plan may use furlough days in advance of accrual.
2. Employees not included in the furlough plan have the choice of the following options to cover the closure periods:

• Accrued vacation (employees may use a certain number of vacation days in advance of their actual accrual as specified in University personnel policies and applicable labor agreements, and newly hired employees may use vacation accruals prior to six continuous months on pay status).
• Compensatory time off.
• Leave without pay.
• Alternative work arrangement.  Supervisors should provide alternative work arrangements to employees who wish to work during either the campuswide closure periods or a discretionary department closure.

During the Davis campuswide closures (December 24, 2009 through January 3, 2010, March 24 and 25, and June 14 and 15), essential services will continue to operate at a minimal level.  Deans and vice chancellors will determine the facilities and/or operations within their purview that need to remain fully or partially open during closure periods and arrange for appropriate staffing.  Decisions in this regard must be made in accordance with university personnel policies and applicable labor agreements and subject to discussion or collective bargaining.  In instances where essential employees participating in the furlough program must work during the closure period, their furlough days must be taken at other times throughout the remainder of the year, with the dates being approved by their supervisor or department chair.

For represented staff not subject to the furlough or specifically exempted by the Regents, the alternative salary reduction program will proceed as previously communicated.  This program helps the campus generate salary savings at the same levels identified for non-represented staff and faculty.  Information on the alternative salary reduction plan can be found on our Human Resources alternatives to furlough site.

We believe this new approach provides more flexibility to our campus community.  Again, we thank you for your feedback and thoughtful suggestions.