Certain state employees may have the option of trading unused vacation time for mandatory furlough days, avoiding some loss of pay.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed an executive order in June that requires all state employees, including University of Wisconsin System employees, to take 16 days of unpaid furlough over the duration of the 2009-11 biennium budget. The order enumerated eight specific days for statewide furloughs, the first of which took place Oct. 12.

The other eight days are left to the discretion of individual state agencies, which submit furlough plans to the Office of State Employee Relations for approval, according to the order.

Under Wisconsin statute, only certain state employees are eligible for vacation benefits. Those who qualify for the benefits include full-time permanent workers and elected state officials.

This statute generally applies to salaried employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, whether represented or non-represented, said Emily Winecke, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Administration, in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

According to documents released by OSER, there are several options available for agencies to comply with furlough standards, including set wage cuts, flexible furlough days and reduced daily hours of business.

By overlapping furlough days with vacation days, eligible employees effectively still receive pay.

Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, said the vacation option for furlough shows there are unforeseen issues with the current guidelines.

“Furloughs are problematic in ways we didn’t understand when the governor implemented them,” Roys said.

Roys also said if employees have earned their vacation time, the state has a legal obligation to pay for vacation time, and if not the employees could rightly sue their employer.

Roys is the author of a furlough reform proposal, which would mandate furloughs only be taken when there are direct savings to the state.

“My bill can’t make this flawed policy perfect,” Roys said. “I am looking at instances where I can maximize savings without administration costs.”

Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said he is confident the Doyle administration will not allow workers to abuse the furlough system because the state needs those savings to balance the budget.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 24, which represents Wisconsin state employees, could not be reached for comment as of press time.