The Office of the President is proposing to renew the Employee-Initiated Reduction In Time (ERIT) Program beyond the end of this fiscal year. Departments have the option to implement ERIT to generate cost savings resulting from voluntary reductions in time. Program renewal will be in effect as of July 1, 2017.
The program provides an opportunity for eligible career staff (except Senior Management Group members) to voluntarily reduce their current appointment percentage and corresponding pay so the University can achieve temporary salary savings. Since its initial implementation in 2011, the estimated savings for UCLA is nearly $7 million.
For departments that choose to participate in ERIT, an employee may request the department head’s approval to voluntarily reduce working time, within specific limits, from a minimum of one month to a maximum of 36 months. For exclusively represented employees, participation in ERIT is subject to agreement by the applicable union.
Several proposed revisions are reflected in the updated program description, including the following:
- Clarification of “Reduction in Time” stating that appointment percentage reduction must be in increments of 5% of full-time.
- Need for departments to review the impact of ERIT reductions in time on the employee’s exempt or non-exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) salary threshold.
Updates to the program, including changes to the Frequently Asked Questions document, are posted at in Related Information.
As this is a formal review, comments are encouraged and should be sent to chr@chr.ucla.edu by May 17, 2017.
