U of M regents approve temporary pays cuts, unpaid leaves

The University of Minnesota's board of regents Friday passed a resolution that temporarily cuts the salaries of some U of M employees, and forces others to take unpaid leave.

The measure is expected to save the U nearly $30 million dollars and will be part of a budget the regents will vote on in June.

Under the plan, civil service employees at the U will take three unpaid furlough days at the end of the year. Most other faculty and staff will take a temporary pay cut of just over 1 percent.

Steven Hunter was one of two regents who voted against the proposal. Hunter said the U could have saved money by asking employees to voluntarily take furlough days.

"In my own mind if we could have started out going to them and asking them on a voluntary basis what they're willing to do before mandating things, I think we could have helped with the moral and maybe made a little further progress," Hunter said.

Despite the cutbacks, most U of M employees will get a 2 percent raise next year, although that will be delayed six months for some employees to ease pressure on the budget.