LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced about 380 city employees will be temporarily furloughed beginning May 3.
The mayor said as steps have been taken at city facilities to keep people apart during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as closing schools and community centers, many employees have been redeployed to other areas as skill sets allowed. He said unfortunately there has been a “dwindling workload” for positions who are not able to telework, and that has created an “increasingly difficult budget situation.”
The furloughs will mostly impact school crossing guards, Louisville Free Public Library employees and others with jobs which are not able to be performed remotely. While on the unpaid leave, those employees will still receive their benefits while also being free to apply for state and federal unemployment benefits.
Mayor Fischer said it is a decision he wishes he did not have to make, but the goal is to call the furloughed employees back to work as quickly as possible.
Editor's Note: During his daily briefing on April 17, Mayor Greg Fischer originally announced about 280 city employees would be furloughed. His office then corrected that statement, saying 380 employees would be furloughed. This article has been updated to show the correct number.
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