
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 20, 1995                   TAG: 9502200027
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

DEADLINE UNCLEAR ON STATE BUYOUT DEAL

At the state's largest university, 12 workers have taken Gov. George Allen up on his offer to give them a week's pay for each year of service if they'll resign from the state work force.

Workers have until Feb. 28 to apply.

But many may be waiting for the General Assembly's counter-offer, a seemingly ever-changing plan that finally passed both houses and landed on the governor's desk Thursday.

Now the question is: Do state workers have only until the end of the month to decide which plan to take? They may, said Sen. Richard Holland, D-Windsor, who offered the bill.

Workers 50 or older with 15 years of service are eligible for the legislator's plan. They must sign up by March 31 and leave by May 1 if they voluntarily depart.

The plan also covers workers who may be laid off. Allen wants to cut the state payroll by 16,000 workers, and has hinted at layoffs this spring.

``One of the reasons I've put this in, I've not seen employee morale as low as I have now,'' Holland said.

The bill, if signed, goes into effect immediately, and is retroactive to Jan. 1. Cliff Shroeder, spokesman for the secretary of administration, said the governor wants the offer to end July 1, 1996. Holland wants the law to be reviewed every three years.

Among specifics:

Employees with less than two years' service get four weeks' salary.

Those with three to nine years' service get four weeks' pay, plus one week for each year after two.

Workers with more than 15 years get two weeks per year served, 36 weeks minimum.

Severance pay is reduced by the amount of unemployment compensation received by those who are laid off.

Compared with the governor's plan, ``It's more generous for those employees who've been here longer, and less generous for those employees who've been here a shorter time,'' Holland said.

``For people who are laid off, it does give some severence pay while they're looking for a new job,'' he said. ``I think it will help employee morale and let employees know that the governor and General Assembly care about the state work force.''

by CNB