Imperial County Municipal Code Ch. 3.40 Force Reduction Layoff Policy

It is the purpose of the county's force reduction layoff policy to provide for the orderly and equitable layoff of those personnel in county service who occupy positions which, due to a change of service(s), lack of work, discontinuance of a program, or for other reason or circumstances as determined by the board of supervisors, are to be eliminated through reduction in force. It also is the intent of this policy to implement as herein provided the provisions of Section 3.16.100.

(Prior code § 24550)

A. This policy shall apply to the county executive officer and county department heads only as provided for in Sections 3.32.040 and 3.36.040. This policy shall not apply to limited term employees.

B. This policy shall not apply to a temporary layoff of less than four consecutive weeks.

C. When two or more agencies/departments are consolidated, or when a function of one agency/department is transferred to another agency/department, employees in all involved agencies/departments shall be subject to layoff if one is necessary.

D. The provisions contained hereinbelow, regarding severance pay, reemployment lists, and status on reemployment, shall not apply if the county has a written agreement with an employer, public or private, which guarantees the county employee an offer of reasonably comparable employment with the new employer who is taking over a function formerly performed by county employees and the new employer does make such an offer in writing to the employee.

(Ord. 1324 § 2, 2000: prior code § 24550)

A. When a reduction in the work force is necessary, employees of the agency/department shall be laid off in an order based on consideration of:

1. Employment status;

2. Past performance;

3. Length of continuous service with the county.

B. Layoffs shall be made by class within an agency/department, except that, where appropriate, the director of human resources may authorize a layoff by department within an agency.

C. Within a class, employees shall be subject to layoff on the basis of employment status in the following order:

1. First: extra help/temporary;

2. Second: probationary;

3. Third: promotional probationary;

4. Fourth: permanent.

After all extra help, temporary or probationary employees have been removed from a class within a layoff unit, the permanent employees with the lowest number of seniority and performance points (hereinafter "layoff points") shall be subject to layoff first. When two or more employees have the same number of layoff points, the order of layoff for such employees shall be determined by drawing lots.

(Prior code § 24552)

A. Layoff points shall be computed by the agency/department head in the following manner:

1. Each affected employee shall receive one layoff point for each month of continuous county service completed in his current or a higher classification, for a maximum of five years, and shall receive one-half layoff point for each month of such service exceeding five years. Layoff points for service in a permanent part-time position shall be calculated on a prorated basis. In addition, for a maximum of the most recent five years of continuous service completed in his current or a higher classification, each affected employee shall receive three additional layoff points for each evaluation factor rating of "excellent" received on an annual evaluation report, but not exceeding a total of twelve (12) additional points for any one annual evaluation. In instances wherein the department head has failed to complete an annual evaluation report for any employee for any year relevant to the computation of such layoff points, such employee shall receive the maximum of twelve (12) additional layoff points for each such year.

2. Each affected employee shall lose three layoff points for each evaluation factor rating of "needs attention" received by such employee on any annual evaluation report during the previous five years of county service in the subject classification. No employee, however, shall lose more layoff points on any one annual evaluation report than earned on such annual evaluation report and for service completed in the subject year.

3. Each affected employee shall lose five layoff points for each evaluation factor rating of "unsatisfactory" received by such employee on any annual performance evaluation report during the previous five years of county service in the subject classification. No employee, however, shall lose more layoff points on any one annual evaluation report than earned on such annual evaluation report and for service completed in the subject year.

B. In preparing an employee's annual evaluation report, each evaluation factor shall be evaluated. While an overall performance evaluation check box will appear on the employment development record, completion of such overall evaluation shall be utilized in the computation of layoff points.

C. For purposes of this force reduction layoff policy, "continuous county service" includes all uninterrupted time served in paid status in the service of the county in the employee's current classification or in a higher related classification or while on approved leaves of absence. Service in a permanent part-time position shall be counted on a prorated basis. A military leave of absence shall not constitute a break in service. Continuous service shall not include county service rendered prior to a termination of county service, whether voluntary or for cause, and subsequent reemployment by the county, or service in an extra help or temporary position; prior layoffs due to reduction in force actions following by subsequent reemployment pursuant to the provision of this policy, however, shall not constitute breaks in county service.

(Prior code § 24553)

Notification to those employees to be laid off shall be made in writing, shall specify the date the action is to be effective, the reason for the reduction in force action, shall outline how the layoff status for the employee was determined, and shall be made to the affected employee personally or by registered or certified mail by the department head at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to the layoff date. Such notice shall inform the employee of the right of the employee to request a review of the action by the county's employment appeals board pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3.64. Such notice also shall inform the employee of any rights such employee may have to severance pay, transfer, or voluntary reduction in lieu of layoff and reemployment rights. Such notice shall be accompanied by a copy of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

(Prior code § 24554)

A. Any employee in permanent status severed from the service of Imperial County as a result of a reduction in force action shall be paid for his or her accrued vacation benefits in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.08.230(D), and during the period following his or her severance, in consideration of past service and in addition to any other remuneration or benefits to which he or she may be entitled, a sum equivalent to a salary payment of forty (40) hours pay for each year or proportion thereof of full-time continuous service with the county to a maximum of five years of service, computed at his or her last hourly rate. Such payment shall be initiated by the agency/department head and paid by the auditor-controller to the employee coinciding with existing pay periods and pay dates until the severance pay credit to which the employee is entitled is exhausted.

B. Severance pay shall cease when any of the following occurs:

1. Severance pay credit is exhausted;

2. Upon rehire by the county or by any other public or private employer;

3. Refusal of a job offer by the county of a regular position in the class from which the employee was laid off.

If the affected employee obtains other permanent employment in the service of Imperial County or by any other public or private employer after layoff, it shall be the duty of the person to report the fact of the employment to the county's director of human resources. In the event severance payment is continued beyond the employee's date of reemployment, the pro-rata portion of the severance payment paid beyond the reemployment date shall be repaid to the county within thirty (30) days of reemployment in a manner as determined by the auditor-controller.

(Prior code § 24555)

A. A promotional probationary or permanent employee who is subject to layoff may, not later than ten (10) calendar days after the date of delivery of the layoff notice, exercise bumping rights in any lower class by requesting a reduction to a lower class within the same occupational series in the layoff unit, provided the employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the class. The reduction shall be made if there is a vacant position in the layoff unit or an incumbent in the lower class in the layoff unit has fewer layoff points than the employee requesting the reduction. In the latter case, the layoff points for all affected employees in the lower class shall be computed on the basis of service in that class or in higher classification, and the incumbent in the lower class with the fewest number of such layoff points shall be subject to layoff.

B. A permanent employee may exercise the same type of bumping rights as provided for hereinabove in regard to a class in the layoff unit equal to the one in which such employee is employed, by requesting a transfer to such equal class, and the transfer shall be made if there is a vacant position in the equal class or an incumbent in the equal class has fewer layoff points than the employee requesting the transfer.

C. If placement of a promotional probationary employee cannot be effected in the layoff unit by reduction to a lower class (because all incumbents in the lower class have more layoff points than the probationer), the probationary employee shall be laid off and shall be given reemployment rights in the class from which he or she is laid off.

(Prior code § 24556)

A. The names of permanent employees laid off shall be placed on layoff unit reinstatement lists for each of the classes from which laid off in the order of their layoff points with the person with the largest number of layoff points listed first. Vacancies that occur in that layoff unit in that class shall be offered first to persons on the layoff unit reinstatement list starting at the top of the list. The reinstatement list for a class shall be used before any other means of filling vacancies for that class.

B. The names of permanent employees laid off shall also be placed on county preferred eligible lists for each of the classes from which laid off, in the order of their layoff points with the person with the largest number of layoff points listed first. When recruitment occurs for any such class in any agency/department of the county, the eligibles at the top of preferred eligible list shall be given first consideration for these positions.

C. Names of persons laid off shall be carried on the layoff unit reinstatement lists and the county preferred eligible lists for two years, except that:

1. A person appointed to a regular position in the county service shall be removed from the lists.

2. A person who on three separate occasions rejects, declines referral for interview, or fails to respond within five working days to offers of employment or employment interviews in the class from which the person was laid off shall be removed from the lists.

3. A name may be removed from a reemployment list for any of the following causes: conviction of a crime which would be sufficient to support dismissal of a permanent employee; conduct which would cause dismissal under the provisions of Section 3.32.030; dismissal for cause from employment subsequent to layoff.

D. Written notice of removal and the reason therefor shall be provided the person being removed from a reemployment list. Such notice shall inform the person of the right of the person to request a review of the action by the county's employment appeals board pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3.64. Such appeals shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 3.64 which pertain to dismissals, suspensions, or demotions of permanent employees.

E. Person certified as appointed from a reemployment list shall be willing and able to report for duty on the effective date of the appointment or within fourteen (14) days after the offer of reemployment has been made, whichever is later. Persons not so willing or able may be considered unavailable for the appointment.

F. A person whose name appears on a reemployment list may be required to take and pass a medical examination prior to certification for reemployment. Such person may be considered unable to report for duty and may be passed over in the order of certification for reemployment until such person meets the prescribed physical standards. The standards applied in the medical examination shall be no more stringent than those which would be applied to a continuing employee to determine fitness for duty. Written notice of non-approval shall be provided to person on reemployment lists who fail to meet prescribed medical standards, and such notice shall inform the person of the right of the person to request a review of the action by the county's employment appeals board pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3.64.

(Prior code § 24557)

Any person employed by the county in any classification at any time during the life of the above-described reemployment lists, shall be reinstated into county service with benefits previously accrued to the credit of the employee, as follows:

A. All sick leave credited to the employee's account when laid off shall be restored;

B. All layoff points for force reduction purposes held upon layoff shall be restored;

C. All prior continuous service shall be credited for the purpose of determining vacation earning rates, salary steps advances, regular retirement credits and sick leave retirement credits;

D. The employee reemployed in the same classification shall be placed on the salary schedule pay step which the employee otherwise would have been entitled to had the employee been on a leave of absence without pay. The employee reemployed in a different classification shall be placed on the salary schedule pay step in his or her new classification in accordance with existing ordinance provisions pertaining to demotions, promotions, or transfers;

E. If reemployment is in a higher or different classification from that employed in at the time of layoff, the reemployed person shall be required to serve a new probationary period in the higher or different classification.

F. If the reemployment is of a promotional probationary employee to the same class from which he or she was laid off, the employee shall serve out the remainder of his or her probationary period following the date of reemployment in the same manner as if his or her probationary period had not been interrupted.

(Prior code § 24558)