As of August 2025, CU Boulder requires that funding lapses or reductions resulting in an employee's FTE adjustment, layoff, or furlough be pre-approved by campus and CIRES leadership. Further, the campus requires that employees receive formal notification of any impacts to their employment status no later than 30 days in advance of the personnel action. This article provides guidance to CIRES units on relevant State, campus, and institute protocols that should be followed in these instances. It also clarifies the differences between a funding-related layoff and a furlough.

Layoffs due to lack of funds:

• Occur when funding ends, and there is limited to no potential for it to resume.
• Formally separate the employee from the university.
• Result in loss of employee benefits.
• Allows impacted employees to be eligible for unemployment.
• Can be rescinded until employee’s final active day of employment.
• Require employee to go through formal recruitment/hiring process if position re-opens in future.

Furloughs:

• Occur when funds are reasonably assured to resume or be sent within a reasonable timeline. 
• Must be approved by university leadership at the request of the CIRES director.
• Are unpaid, but employee retains benefits.
• Are approved in 30-day increments, with a 60-day maximum furlough duration.

Advance Notification Timelines:

60-day Advance Employee Notification – Colorado WARN Act

• This State law requires that if 50+ employees may be laid off within 30-day window, employees must be notified of that potential, at least informally, no later than 60 days in advance of the action. 
• CIRES leadership will work with respective unit to determine communication timeline and format in these instances.

60-day University Vetting and Approval Process (FTE Reductions, Layoffs, and Furlough)

• CIRES Administration (HR, FIN, Kari Bowen (if CIESRDS)) must be informed at minimum 60 days in advance of a potential funding-related impacts to employee(s) status.
• All funding related FTE reductions and layoffs must be vetted by the CIRES Finance Manager for the respective team or unit.
• Before CIRES can take any action, a set of questions must be fully answered as part of the campus vetting and approval process.
• Those questions will be posed by CIRES Administration to the unit and then shared with campus leadership in a memo that is sent from the CIRES director. 
• Once campus approval is received, CIRES Finance and HR will guide unit on next steps and employee conversations.

30-day Employee Notification

• CU Boulder requires that impacted employees receive formal notice of FTE reduction, Layoff or Furlough no less than 30 days from funding end date. Formal letters are issued by CIRES HR once campus approval is received.

Administrative Process (Initiated no later than 60 days in advance of funding impacts):

1. When a funding loss is anticipated, the unit must inform their CIRES Finance Manager.
2. The unit will be asked to answer the following questions:
   1. Are these actions related to the federal transition (yes/no)?
   2. Award information, including award number
   3. Include name of project or sub-project
   4. If the funding is ending, what entity or individual made that decision?
      1. For example – is the project ending? Is their skillset no longer needed – why not? Have the federal scientific priorities changed, resulting in project loss?
   5. Which employees are supported by these funds and will there be impacts to them? (This includes reductions in FTE)
      1. If so, who are they (please include employee names and impacts (FTE reduction, layoff, etc.)? 
   6. If there are no other employee impacts, why not? Here it's important to distinguish why some employees may be retained and others not.
   7. If this is an employee’s sole source of funds, are there other projects they can be supported by that need their skillset?
3. The answers to these questions are vetted by CIRES Finance in partnership with CIRES HR.
4. Once CIRES Finance has vetted and approved the request, the finance manager will inform the CIRES supervisor, unit head, and CIRES HR. 
5. The information will be compiled in a memo from the CIRES director and sent to campus leadership for final review and approval. This includes a liability review by CU legal counsel.
6. If campus approves the request, CIRES HR will then notify the CIRES unit and work to prepare the formal employee paperwork, e.g. FTE reduction addendum, notice of furlough, or layoff.
   1. Simultaneously, CIRES HR provides guidance to the CIRES supervisor and unit lead on best practices for notifying impacted employees.
7. Once employee is notified, CIRES HR will outreach with additional employee resources and information about impacts to their employment.

Questions: Please reach out to CIRES HR cireshr@colorado.edu with any questions.