25 from newsroom seek buyout

A Journal Sentinel Inc. buyout offer has attracted 25 applicants from the newsroom, according to the company.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has not yet been provided with the names of the applicants. We also don't know how many people applied companywide, although the newsroom response suggests the company met or exceeded its target of 35 to 50.

Friday, Oct. 26, was the deadline for applying for the voluntary buyouts. The company now is in the process of deciding who will be accepted for the buyouts. Employees will be notified in writing that their application has been accepted.

Anyone who has applied may retract his or her application at any time prior to being notified of acceptance. The company has said that once an employee has been notified in writing that the buyout application has been accepted, the acceptance is final.

The Guild's lawyer, Barbara Zack Quindel, had raised concerns with the Agreement and Release form that employees taking the buyout will be signing. Because of the concerns she raised, the following steps have been taken:

• Item 13 about confidentiality has been removed. Quindel raised the point that it is unnecessary, because the agreement has been widely distributed.
• The company has clarified Item 12, the "waiver of re-employment." This is not an outright ban for working again for a Journal Communications company. What it does is establish that we have no recall rights in such cases. In other words, a former employee reapplying to a Journal Communications company will not be given special consideration toward rehiring.

Also, here are answers to a few late questions we received from members.

How will references be handled? Human Resources will not change how it handles references. It will continue to give out only basic information -- dates of employment and confirming that the employee was part of a voluntary buyout.

If I take the buyout and then later I am rehired by the Journal Sentinel, do I retain my seniority and current vacation status? No, because of the interruption in service, you would start at the beginning for seniority and vacation if rehired. You would retain pension benefits you have accrued.

What are the tax implications of taking the buyout? Your lump-sum payment is expected to be paid out in 2007, so it will be part of calculating your 2007 tax return. How much you actually pay will depend on all your other income and will not be determined until you file a return. If you need specific information about your situation, you should consult a tax expert.