Iowa City-based University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is requiring employees to either give up paid vacation time or take unpaid furlough to help offset financial losses linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to TV station KCRG.
UIHC is expecting a $100 million loss due to lost revenue and added expenses tied to the pandemic. To help offset the financial losses, it is requiring employees making $50,000 or more to take two weeks of unpaid furlough or give up 100 hours of paid time off. Those making less than $50,000 will be required to take one week of unpaid furlough or give up 50 hours of paid time off.
Employees making less than $50,000 will receive a planned 2.1 percent pay raise July 1, but those making $50,000 or more will not receive raises, according to the report. UIHC CEO Suresh Gunasekaran and Brooks Jackson, MD, UI vice president of medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine, will each take a 10 percent pay cut for three months. Other executives will take a 5 percent pay cut, according to The Gazette.
"Our goal has been, and continues to be, to avoid layoffs and to minimize the impact on employees," Mr. Gunasekaran said in a statement to KCRG. "Several factors, including being able to quickly and safely increase patient volumes, as well as federal stimulus funding, allowed us to develop a much more favorable solution for addressing the financial impact than initially anticipated."
Employees will be eligible for a one-time bonus if UIHC mees financial targets for the rest of this year, according to the report.