NCSS Announces Temporary Layoffs

School closings result in temporary layoffs at NCSS
By  Joe Halko, NCSS Director of Community Relations

St. Albans – COVID-19, commonly known as the new coronavirus, is having an unprecedented impact on the health, safety, and well-being of everyone.  Everything that we knew as normal has been replaced with a level of anxiety and uncertainty.
Sadly, with the recent closure of schools and the Governor’s “Stay Home” order, we find ourselves needing to temporarily reduce our workforce.  As a result, Northwestern Counseling & Support Services (NCSS) has temporarily laid-off 124 employees.  When given the option, 71% of the temporary lay-offs were voluntary and primarily affected school based and community support staff.
“The majority of NCSS staff continues to provide much needed services in a variety of creative and alternative ways.  In an attempt to maximize care, we have reassigned many staff to other programs that need coverage during these trying times.”, stated Todd Bauman, CEO of NCSS.
“We are all living firsthand through a series of challenging events.  We have put a lot of thought into the actions we’ve taken; it’s a delicate balance between operating and taking care of staff.  We have made exceptions to many policies, one of them being the decision to continue people’s health insurance without collecting their bi-weekly share.”, noted Stacey Remillard, Director of Human Resources.
At this time, we hope to recall staff during the month of April.  We will continue to adapt as new information becomes available. 

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