Wichita employees furloughed; job freeze in effect as city grapples with COVID-19

The city of Wichita sent an email to its employees Friday notifying them of a hiring freeze and a “temporary furlough for a limited number of full-time and part-time city positions that are unable to perform work remotely” during the new coronavirus pandemic.

The hiring freeze and furlough began Saturday and go to April 23. The city is providing a paid day off for furloughed positions on April 24. Supervisors are expected to speak with furloughed employees directly “to help explain the process and provide access to resources.”

“It is our intention that we’ll all be back to work soon but the city may have to extend the furlough as events demand,” the email says.

Additionally, the email says furloughed employees can use their vacation, personal and sick time during the furlough. Workers can also transfer benefits from one employee to another for the next 30 days and Wichita will continue to contribute to employees’ retirement and health insurance.

“If an employee experiences difficulty in making the required 20% health insurance contribution, the city will advance that amount and a repayment plan will be worked out a case by case basis,” the email says. “These are trying times for every Wichitan — but especially for those having to directly deal with the financial strain this pandemic has caused. We urge everyone to do what they can to assist their fellow employees with compassion, empathy and with whatever resources possible.”

With the employees who have already donated shared leave, “we need just over $26,000 of additional shared leave time to maintain all employees’ pay disrupted by the furlough.”

Employees should continue to monitor Wichita.gov/coronavirus for updates and resources.

April 24, the day the current furlough guidelines end, is the same day Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman said the coronavirus in Kansas will peak. That date is based on a forecast by University of Washington researchers, he said.

Sedgwick County has 33 cases, up 12 from Friday, and Kansas was up 59 to 261, according to Saturday’s report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Wichita-based Textron Aviation, the city’s second-largest employer with roughly 9,500 employees, announced March 18 furloughs of roughly 7,000 employees across the U.S. because of the pandemic. The staggered furloughs run until May 29.

This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 3:16 PM.