BY CYNTHIA LEE
UCLA Today Staff
In the wake of mid-year budget cuts authorized by Gov. Gray
Davis, UCLA’s head of Campus Human Resources (CHR) said
that her department, campus leaders and the UC Office of the
President are looking at ways to cushion the impact on employees.
In a talk Assistant Vice Chancellor Lubbe Levin
gave Jan. 29, hosted by UCLA Staff Assembly at the Faculty Center,
she described the many services her department offers employees
and discussed human resource strategies to deal with the current
budget environment.
Among the strategies being considered for staff
is a program similar to one offered in the early 1990s, the
Temporary Reduction in Time Program (TRIP). Under TRIP, fulltime
employees were given a choice, if their department agreed, to
reduce their work hours temporarily.
“People were able to shift department
resources in such a way that they were able to avoid some layoffs
that otherwise would have been necessary,” Levin said.
In addition, employees who needed to could take time off because
of family and personal needs.
“I have not yet received a description
of what will eventually go out for review and comment,”
Levin said. “However, the good news is that last month
the regents authorized President Atkinson to approve this type
of plan without having to go back to the Board of Regents,”
a move that will expedite implementation.
Another way UC has helped employees through
tight budget years with low salary increases is by making contributions
to eligible employees’ Capital Accumulation Provision
(CAP) account, she explained.
“These contributions are available to
you to be paid out when you retire or leave the institution,”
Levin said. “And when you look at those accumulations
as they earn interest (currently 7.5%) over the years, they
are very attractive.”
On the possibility of another VERIP, an early
retirement incentive program offered in the early ’90s,
Levin said: “I can tell you very directly that there is
no immediate planning going on for another VERIP. On the other
hand, I will never say ‘never.’ If the budget situation
gets much more serious, then it could come back on the drawing
board.”
The university is also encouraging all managers
to keep as many vacant staff positions open for as long as possible
unless there is a critical staffing need, Levin said. That way,
“if there is a need to reduce the budget, it can be done
through attrition.”
CHR offers numerous services to help employees
with retirement planning, career counseling, job search assistance
and counseling support through the Staff & Faculty Counseling
Center.
“The most important thing we can do now
is communicate,” Levin said. “Even though we can’t
answer all your questions, we can share what we do know and
try to be an information resource to you so that you know about
the services available to you.”
To learn more about the services offered to
employees, see www.chr.ucla.edu.
For updated information on the budget situation, visit www.ucla.edu/budget.
