Employment Lawyers Worry that Furloughs May Cause Complications

Staff Writer, May 21, 2009

A recent trend among employers, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet in the difficult economy is to offer furloughs to their employees. This means that unpaid time off is offered to the workers, in hopes of lowering operation costs. This practice has become especially popular on newspaper staffs and the employees of other media outlets.

Though this may seem to be a good solution to a difficult problem because layoffs can be avoided, some employment lawyers argue that it may be too good to be true. Just because a lot of employees take time off does not mean that they will not still be working. Many employees will continue to check their emails, their voice mails and their Blackberries. It may be hard for them to tear themselves away, especially those who work for such “24-hour” jobs as newspaper reporting.

Lawyers warn employers to be careful when offering furloughs. They explain that employees should be aware of what is expected of them while they are “off-the-clock” and fully understand that they will not be compensated for any work done during this time. This will help employers to avoid costly lawsuits in the future.