By Evan Lange
A furlough is a temporary, usually unpaid, break from work or reduction in hours while you stay employed. In Texas, an at-will employer can generally furlough employees, but pay rules still apply: hourly employees must be paid for every hour they actually work, and salaried exempt employees must receive their full weekly salary for any week in which they do any work. You may qualify for unemployment benefits during a furlough, including partial benefits if your hours are cut and you earn less than 125% of your weekly benefit amount, or benefits under an employer’s TWC Shared Work plan. A furlough that lasts more than six months can count as a layoff under the federal WARN Act.
Energy companies cutting rigs, hospitals trimming non-clinical staff, manufacturers slowing production: when Houston employers need to save money without permanent layoffs, they often turn to furloughs and reduced schedules. A furlough keeps your job on paper, but it can quickly drain your paycheck. Here’s what employers can and can’t do, and how to protect your income.
If the furlough turns into a permanent layoff, see what to do in the first 48 hours and mass layoffs in Texas.
See whether your employer can reduce your wages and the overtime exemption rule.
If you’re told to stay unpaid but keep answering emails, track that time. For exempt employees, even a little work in a week can mean the full week’s salary is owed.
Read more about collecting unemployment in Texas.
The federal WARN Act generally requires 60 days’ notice before a plant closing or mass layoff at covered employers with 100 or more employees. A layoff that lasts more than six months, or a reduction in hours of more than 50% in each month of a six-month period, can count as an employment loss. If a “temporary” furlough stretches on without notice, you may be owed back pay and benefits. See our guide to the WARN Act in Texas.
Learn more about retaliation in the workplace.
Generally yes. Texas is an at-will state, so employers can usually furlough employees or reduce hours, but they must still follow wage laws and cannot choose who to furlough for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons.
Hourly employees must be paid for hours actually worked. Salaried exempt employees must receive their full weekly salary for any week in which they do any work; no pay is required only for a full week with no work.
Often yes. Fully furloughed workers can apply with the Texas Workforce Commission, and workers with reduced hours may qualify for partial benefits if they earn less than 125% of their weekly benefit amount, or through a Shared Work plan.
It is a voluntary program that lets employers reduce employees’ hours by 10% to 40% instead of laying them off, with workers receiving a proportional share of unemployment benefits.
It can. A layoff that lasts more than six months, or a reduction in hours of more than 50% in each month of a six-month period, can count as an employment loss under the WARN Act.
The Lange Firm represents employees in Houston and across Texas. Attorney Evan Lange can review your pay during the furlough, WARN Act issues and whether your selection was a form of wrongful termination or discrimination.
A furlough is supposed to be temporary.
Your rights are not.
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