Has demand for a secondary or new service exploded since you furloughed employees?  In most employment-at-will situations, you are able to employ the best person for the job you need done.  This means that, if currently-furloughed employees do not have the skills or talents to effectively perform the job duties you need, you should be able to hire a new employee. It is essential to hire someone who has different abilities, education, or experience than anyone currently in your workforce that enable them to perform that service when and how you need it.

There may be more restrictions to your ability to hire a new employee if you have employees under a CBA (labor contract) or depending on how you worded the furlough notice.

As always, document your decisions and procedures to be able to show that you hired the new employee based on the services they could provide rather than to replace a furloughed employee for a discriminatory reason.

Affinity HR Group is BSCAI's endorsed HR partner, providing HR support, recruiting and employee engagement services.  For a link to our menu of services for BSCAI members, go to www.AffinityHRGroup.com/BSCAI