County government employees furloughed beginning May 9
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs announced today “a temporary furlough for county government employees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” an mayoral office press release stated Friday, April 17. “The furlough will affect a yet-to-be-determined number of employees in the fee offices and every executive branch department.
“Furloughed employees will continue to receive health coverage and other benefits from Knox County, in addition to up to $275 per week from the State of Tennessee and $600 from the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relieve and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for a total of up $875 per week while unemployed,” the release further stated.
“Employees will officially start what’s technically classified as an eight-week furlough Saturday, May 9, but will continue working — and be paid — through Friday, May 8, to give county Human Resources time to file unemployment paperwork on their behalf, though they will have to personally certify unemployment weekly online.”
Looking ahead, “It is the intent of Knox County to bring everyone back to work, though furlough extensions remain a possibility,” the release stated.
“We are facing this challenge directly and making decisions that will help us continue providing the services our residents depend on,” Jacobs said. “The decision to furlough employees was incredibly difficult and the hardest move I’ve made as Mayor. We held off as long as we could and do not take this lightly because we know it affects real people’s livelihoods. We expect these furloughs to be temporary and hope that everyone will be back to work very soon.
Though this certainly isn’t something we wanted to do, we need to watch our spending during these uncertain times,” he added.
