Alpine County Municipal Code Art. IX Layoffs and Reinstatements

The board may authorize a reduction in the number of employees in the classified service as part of any administrative reorganization for more efficiency in county operations, or as part of a program to reduce expenditures due to inadequate revenue. (Ord. 533 §9.01, 1991)

A. Upon initiation the board of supervisors, affected department or departments, with input from the administrative services coordinator and a representative from the Alpine County Employees Association, will review any proposal for staff reduction in the specified departments. Such review will include consideration of workload, budget, services, and length of time classes have been established.

B. After such review, a recommendation from the department head or heads will be submitted to the board for its consideration. The board will order which departments are affected and which class titles in the department are affected. Where there is more than one employee in the affected class in a department, the order of layoff will be by status of appointment:

1. Temporary employees;

2. Seasonal employees;

3. Probationary employees with evaluations indicating unsatisfactory job performance;

4. Other probationary employees;

5. Permanent employees with evaluations indicating unsatisfactory job performance;

6. Permanent employees based on seniority.

C. Seniority will be computed on the basis of one point for each month of full-time continuous service or a pro rata amount for each month of part-time continuous service with the county. Employees with the least seniority will be laid off first. (Ord. 533 §9.02, 1991)

A. An employee who is laid off and who has greater total continuous county service than another employee in the same or similar department in another class with the same or lower salary allocation, for which the employee is qualified, may elect to displace the junior employee with the lesser total continuous county service. An employee who is displaced will be laid off and replaced by the employee who displaces him/her. No probationary period will be required of a displacing employee.

B. An employee who is displaced because of layoff may, in the same manner, displace an employee who is junior to him/her.

C. Should an employee have the right to displace in more than one class, the employee will first displace in the class with the highest allocated salary. (Ord. 533 §9.03, 1991)

At least thirty days prior to the effective date of layoff as ordered by the board, each employee to be laid off will receive a written notice of layoff from the board. The notice will explain the reason for the layoff and the effective date of layoff. The notice will further inform the employee of the right to voluntary transfer, voluntary demotion, displacement, and reinstatement. (Ord. 533 §9.04, 1991)

A. It will be county policy to offer employment opportunity whenever possible to laid-off employees, consistent with the duty of appointing authorities to appoint qualified individuals.

B. Within ten days of receipt of a layoff notice, the employee may request transfer or demotion to another available position for which the employee is qualified.

C. Further, the administrative services coordinator will notify other county departments which might have vacancies in positions for which the employee is qualified. A department head for another department may, in his or her discretion, fill a vacant position with the laid-off employee without regard to any applicable eligible list. (Ord. 533 §9.05, 1991)

A. An employee who is laid off will have the right to be reinstated to his or her former position within class within one year of the date of layoff should the department seek to fill the position during that year.

B. Whenever more than one person has been laid off and/or displaced in the same class in the same department, the order of reinstatement will be in the reverse of the order of layoff. A person who has reinstatement rights in more than one class because of layoff or displacement in more than one class will have reinstatement rights in each of the classes from which the employee was laid off or displaced. Refusal to accept reinstatement in one class does not eliminate the right to reinstatement in the other class or classes.

C. Reinstatement will be on the same terms and conditions as prevailed at the date of layoff, including appointment status and seniority, except that adjustment will be made for any accrued benefits that had been paid off during the period of layoff. The payoff of any accrued benefits during the period of layoff will be considered final and in full satisfaction of any claims covered by the payoff. However, if allowable under the various benefit contracts, arrangements can be made by the employee to buy back certain benefits for which he has been paid off by the county.

D. The county will make a reasonable attempt to provide written notification of a reinstatement opportunity to an employee who is eligible for reinstatement. If an employee cannot be reached within thirty calendar days, the right to reinstatement will be forfeited. Should an employee not accept reinstatement within five regular county business days after the receipt of the offer or should the employee decline to begin work within fifteen regular county business days after the receipt of the offer, the employee will be declared unavailable and will forfeit the right to reinstatement.

E. An employee eligible for reinstatement may waive a reinstatement offer to a vacant position without loss of reinstatement eligibility status. Whenever a person is unavailable for reinstatement, the next senior person who is eligible for reinstatement will be offered reinstatement in the same manner and under the same conditions. Should there be no person eligible and available for reinstatement, the position will be filled by the established county hiring procedures. (Ord. 533 §9.06, 1991)