Dear Faculty and Staff:

Last week's three-day shutdown of the university was very unfortunate from
a number of perspectives including the impact that it could have on the
paychecks and leave balances of our dedicated faculty and staff. As you
probably know, the legislature recognized this fact and authorized the UT
Board of Trustees, State Department of Personnel and Tennessee Board of
Regents to develop plans to "redress" this situation. The intent was to
make sure that no state employee was penalized by the shutdown.

I am pleased to report to you that we have acted quickly. The UT Board of
Trustees approved our plan earlier today. Appropriate state officials have
also reviewed the proposal, and we are confident it meets the legislature's
intent within available funds. More importantly, we believe our plan
appropriately recognizes those who were called on to work during the
three-day period while also ensuring that those who were told to stay home
are not penalized.

The state guideline, including higher education, is as follows:

Furloughed Individuals: Faculty and staff who fall into this category were
scheduled and available to work during the three-day period. You will not
be charged annual leave or suffer a loss of pay.
Faculty and Staff Who Worked: Those who were required to work will be paid
in accordance with normal UT policies. In addition, full-time and part-time
regular employees will receive an increase to their annual leave balance
equal to the amount of hours they worked.
Employees Who Scheduled Leave: Individuals in this category had already
been granted approved leave prior to the state shutdown. As such they were
not available to work during the furlough period and will be charged the
leave previously approved.

I want to thank each of you for your patience, perseverance and support
during the last few weeks. I'm pleased that we are now able to again focus
our efforts on providing Tennessee the very best university we can be.

Cordially,
John W. Shumaker
UT President