PART ONE:
There are a lot of questions regarding the future of furlough, and we have been waiting to address them until we had answers. So here’s what I know.
1) When furlough began, booksellers with less than six months of tenure were separated. (This metric applied all the way up to SMs.) Those with more than six months were offered furlough, or the choice to continue working where possible.
2) Throughout the course of closing and reopening, as payroll hours have come available (if/where they have), SMs have been tasked to contact each furloughed employee by order of hire-date seniority and offered them the choice to return to work (provided their availability met the needs of the store under new operating hours) or remain furloughed.
3) Now, approaching six months since all the madness began, we’re entering the final round of phone calls. Stores with payroll to offer can bring back furloughed employees whose availability matches the needs of the store, if those employees wish to return to work.
4) Furloughed booksellers who cannot, due to payroll, availability, or personal choice, return to work, will be separated on September 4th.
5) As/if hiring begins again, booksellers will of course be able to reapply as they wish. If you’re rehired within a certain time frame, you get your hourly rate and your PTO (where applicable) back as well.
***If you have questions regarding any of this as it pertains to you, I strongly advise you to contact your store’s management (who may or may not have been even allowed by law to contact you unless it was about an offer to return to work) rather than seek information in here, about this. Not every store/district’s circumstances are the same, some of the events on this list may or may not have applied to you, may have affected other stores and regions vastly differently, and the best way to avoid confusion is to ask questions of the people responsible for and most familiar with your store’s situation.
Also, on a personal note, thanks I hate it, I am unbelievably sorry to anyone who has gotten or is going to get the sht end of this shtstick, going to finish my lunch break crying by the dumpster and then head back to cash, where I might or might not kick things.
The blows keep coming. I’m a part time bookseller though I’ve had full time hours for years. I did the math and found out I won’t be eligible for healthcare next year. I know this situation doesn’t apply to many of us, but it still hurts.
What about through the exchanges in November? Or is it too expensive where you are?
Does your state offer expanded Medicaid?
This is too sad.
You should edit to add that they will still be eligible for rehire if/when they are able to hire again.
We would have to reapply as a new hire I was told.
Wasn't sure.
I too got the phone call yesterday telling me that my store didn’t have the availability for me. That being said my town has 2 stores and my name is being given to the other store because they are short staffed.
Yep, I got my "separation" phone call yesterday. Sigh.
I didn’t think we would go through the vast firings again. That was horrid.
yep. Three years in a job I really really liked. I'm sad.
Maybe reapply for the holidays. They could possibly keep you on afterwards.
I'm already on the list.
How were you able to do that? Didn't you have to fill out a new hire application?
I dunno how official it is, but my boss is keeping me "on the list" if they're able to hire for seasonal. I think it's more of a personal courtesy.
I got a separation *text yesterday, after 2 years nearly full time. I loved this job, sometimes it was the only thing getting me out of bed in the morning. Sad is an understatement
Got a text?! Wow.
A text 🤦🏼♀️
Got the call to return but my availability prevents me from doing so, so im riding out the furlough till separation
Got the bye bye call yesterday. I understand, but so sad. I loved this job.
sorry to hear you are leaving, but good luck in your new endeavors. I think you added so much to our knowledge. I have no hard feelings, I always figured I would be the last called back, if there were hours to be had. I feel bad for C…See More
I’m sure it’s hurting her. She has always been so understanding, as asm and sm.
I tried for a LOA instead, but apparently they don't exist right now.
Yep. I had my choices laid out for me yesterday.
Thanks for the heads up! need to buy all the things now! i won't have the availablity either
Yep! Guess I don’t have to ponder back-and-forth anymore
Another thing that I've noticed:
If you had gotten the call to return to work, but you declined at the time (but still hope to come back later), you're put at the end of the call list, and may or may not get called back.
in the next round of calls, the SMs start with the most tenured person again. They don’t get skipped.
Don’t you think that the employees deserve to hear this information from their SM if they haven’t gotten a call yet? Why is this on here already?
the calls were supposed to be made yesterday.
I can assure you that is not correct for everyone.
The information is spilling out all over other avenues and the volume of pending posts about this reached a level where we felt it was time to address it.
And yes, SMs were supposed to have made the calls yesterday, and by the end of the day today if that wasn’t possible.
again, that’s not true. Can you verify every SM worked yesterday and got this information? Regardless, there’s no way all the phone calls have been made and everyone deserves to hear it from their boss. Not the internet. There’s no reason why this couldn’t wait a few more days to be “addressed” on here.
Right. I called my store this afternoon and my SM doesn't know anything about it yet. She heard it first from me (SIM, 13 years, still on furlough).
as a store manager who dealt with the 1800 issue and also someone who has their HR certification or SHRM-CP , if this was the direction the company was going with then every store manager would’ve been expected to work yesterday to make
I’m an SM. I also dealt with the 1800. I was not told any such thing yesterday to make these calls and that there was a deadline to do so. No SM was required to work yesterday, in fact some SMS are on vacation right now. So kindly back off me as well, especially since you don’t work at BN anymore.
exactly!!! The information that’s been given hasn’t been consistent and that’s a big problem. Hence why this should wait to be public until everyone has had the opportunity to reach out personally to their folks.
There is no perfect time to do this.
So this was probably the best possible path, all things considered.
I was one of the 1800, and it was a shock, and it was sudden. But the Head Cashiers and Receivers did get something from the Company - Severance, & the continuation of our benefits until our severance was over.
Those being separated, with only 10 day
My SM called me within an hour of my reading this post and I was infinitely grateful to have had the heads up about it, so I wasn't trying to process everything while I was actively on the phone.
then I apologize. The company is not handling the process the way it should based on the legal guidelines of HR for furloughs. Because I remember with the 1800, the company was spot on in following every process as they were forced to by law. This again just reaffirms the fact that the change that happened for me was by far the best that could’ve happened. Again, I apologize and wish you luck.
yeah no I'm VERY happy to have this post. my SM called me yesterday, I couldn't answer and by the time I checked my VM it was practically closing time, she said she was off today and that I could call tomorrow so that's what I'm gonna do. very happy to have this heads up so I know what to expect.
yeah I can imagine that would be hard but I feel like most of us expected it even if we didn't want it.
so do you think that means she's gonna be letting me go due to hours regardless of what I say?
SMs were told to make the calls starting this week. There was no date given on when they had to be made by, only a date given on when furloughed people had to be back on the schedule by.
If it helps, I am a SIM and have been with this company more than 15 years and currently furloughed. I really don't know what can be said other than to reapply when things open up. If you are rehired within 90 days you will be reinstated at your current pay rate with whatever vacation you may still have. Wishing all of us the best of luck.