City of Jackson announces 16-week furlough for over 190 employees

JACKSON, Tenn. — The City of Jackson announced they will furlough more than 190 employees for 16 weeks to address budget deficits.

“Today we notified some of our employees that they will be placed on a 16-week furlough effective Saturday, May 2,” said City of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger.

Jackson, already facing a $4 million budget deficit for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, now faces an even larger deficit for the 2020-2021 fiscal year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Like many businesses in our community, the City of Jackson has also been financially impacted by COVID-19. We knew this would happen when we put restrictions on the local economy, but lives were more important than money and we didn’t have a choice,” said Conger.

60 full-time employees and 133 part-time employees will be furloughed, and are scheduled to return to work Monday, August 24.

The city will continue to cover medical benefits of furloughed employees. They will also receive unemployment benefits, currently paying up to $875 per week.

Additionally, Mayor Conger and all other department heads have received a temporary pay cut based on a percentage of their salary.