Iowa Admin. Code r. 11-60.3 - Reduction in force
A reduction in force (layoff) may be proposed by an appointing authority whenever there is a lack of funds, a lack of work or a reorganization. A reduction in force shall be required whenever the appointing authority reduces the number of permanent merit system covered employees in a class or the number of hours worked, as determined by the "full-time equivalent" funding attributed to the position, by a permanent merit system covered employee in a class, except as provided in subrule 60.3(1).
(1) The following agency actions shall not
constitute a reduction in force nor require the application of these reduction
in force rules:
a. An interruption of
employment for no more than 20 consecutive calendar days, with the prior
approval of the director .
b.
Interruptions in the employment of school term employees during breaks in the
academic year, during the summer, or during other seasonal interruptions that
are a condition of employment, with the prior approval of the
director .
c. The promotion or
reclassification of an employee to a class in the same or a higher pay
grade.
d. The reclassification of
an employee's position to a class in a lower pay grade that results from the
correction of a classification error, the implementation of a class or series
revision, changes in the duties of the position, or a reorganization that does
not result in fewer total positions in the unit that is reorganized.
e. A change in the classification of an
employee's position or the appointment of an employee to a vacant position in a
class in a lower pay grade resulting from a disciplinary or voluntary
demotion.
f. The transfer or
reassignment of an employee to another position in the same class or to a class
in the same pay grade.
g. A
reduction in the number of, or hours worked by, permanent employees not covered
by merit system provisions.
(2) The agency 's reduction in force shall
conform to the following provisions:
a.
Reduction in force shall be by class.
b. The reduction in force unit may be by
agency organizational unit or agency wide. If the agency organizational unit is
smaller than a bureau, it must first be reviewed by the director .
c. The appointing authority shall develop a
plan for the reduction in force and shall submit that plan to the director for
approval in advance of the effective date. The plan must be approved by the
director before it can become effective. The plan shall include the reason(s)
for and the effective date of the reduction in force, the reduction in force
unit(s), the reason(s) for choosing the unit(s) if the unit(s) is smaller than
a bureau, the number of permanent merit system covered employees by class to be
eliminated or reduced in hours, the cutoff date for length of service and
performance credits to be utilized in determining retention points, and any
other information requested by the director .
d. The appointing authority shall notify each
affected employee in writing of the reduction in force, the reason(s) for it,
and the employee's rights under these rules. A copy of the employee's retention
points computation work sheet shall be furnished to the employee. The official
notifications to affected employees shall be made at least 20 workdays prior to
the effective date of the reduction in force unless budgetary limitations
require a lesser period of time. These official notifications shall occur only
after the agency 's reduction in force plan has been approved by the director ,
unless otherwise authorized by the director .
e. The appointing authority shall notify the
affected employee(s), in writing, of any options or assignment changes during
the various steps in the reduction in force process. In each instance the
employee shall have five calendar days following the date of receipt of the
notification in which to respond in writing to the appointing authority in
order to exercise the rights provided for in this rule that are associated with
the reduction in force.
(3) Retention points. The reduction in force
shall be in accordance with total retention points made up of a combination of
points for length of service and points for performance record. The director ,
at the request of the appointing authority, may approve specific exemptions
from reduction in force where special skills or abilities are required and have
been previously documented in the records of the department as essential for
performance of the assigned job functions. An employee with greater retention
points who has received a rating of less than "meets expectations" on the most
recent performance review given, or who has a disciplinary suspension or
demotion within the last 12 months, may be subject to reduction in force before
the employee with the next lowest retention points, subject to approval of the
director . A cutoff date shall be set by the appointing authority beyond which
no points shall be credited. Length of service and performance credits shall be
calculated as follows:
a. Credit for length
of service shall be given at the rate of one point for each month of
employment, including employment credited to the employee during a probationary
period. Any period of 15 calendar days of service in a month will be considered
a full month. In computing length of service credit, the appointing authority
shall include all continuous merit system covered nontemporary service in the
executive branch. If a merit system covered nontemporary employee's employment
is interrupted due to (1) a reduction in force, (2) qualification for long-term
disability, or (3) a work-related injury, and the employee is subsequently
reinstated to the same class in a different layoff unit or to a different class
than that held at the time of separation in accordance with rule
11-57.5 (8A), and the
reinstatement occurs within two years of the interruption of employment, prior
service credit shall be restored. Such credit will be subject to a reduction
for the period of separation from state service .
Length of
(1) Any period of temporary
or seasonal employment, if not credited toward the probationary
period.
(2) Any period of
suspension without pay of 15 days or more.
(3) Approved leaves of absence without pay in
excess of 15 days.
(4) Any period
of layoff of 15 days or more.
(5)
Any period of long-term disability of 15 days or more.
(6) Any period of unpaid absence that was not
subsequently used to establish or adjust the employee's date of hire.
b. Credit for the performance
record shall be calculated using the results of documented performance
evaluations completed in accordance with 11-subrule 62.2(2) as follows:
(1) A performance evaluation period rated
overall as "less than competent" or "does not meet expectations" or for which
the "overall sum of ratings" is less than 3.00 shall receive no
credit.
(2) A performance
evaluation period rated overall as "competent" or better, or "meets or exceeds
expectations" or for which the "overall sum of ratings" is 3.00 or greater
shall receive one retention point for each month of such rated service .
c. The total retention points
shall be the sum that results from adding together the total of the length of
service points and the total of the performance record points.
(4) Order of reduction in force.
Permanent merit system covered employees in the approved reduction in force
unit shall be placed on a list in descending order by class beginning with the
employee having the highest total retention points in the class in the layoff
unit. Reduction in force selections shall be made from the list in inverse
order regardless of full-time or part-time status, except as provided in
subrule 60.3(3). If two or more employees have the same combined total
retention points, the order of reduction shall be determined by giving
preference in the following sequence:
a. The
employee with the highest total performance record points; and then, if still
tied,
b. The employee with the
lower last four digits of the social security number.
(5) Bumping (class change in lieu of layoff).
Employees who are affected by a reduction in force may, in lieu of layoff,
elect to exercise bumping rights.
a.
Supervisory employees, with the exception of supervisory employees of the
department of public safety, may not bump or replace junior employees who are
not being laid off. For purposes of this subrule, "junior" employee means an
employee with less seniority or fewer retention points than a supervisory
employee.
b. Employees who choose
to exercise bumping rights must do so to a position in the applicable reduction
in force unit. Bumping may be to a lower class in the same series or to a lower
formerly held class (or its equivalent if the class has been retitled) in which
the employee had nontemporary status while continuously employed in the state
service . Bumping shall not be permitted to classes from which employees were
voluntarily or disciplinarily demoted. Bumping by nonsupervisory employees
shall be limited to positions in nonsupervisory classes. Bumping to classes
that have been designated as collective bargaining exempt shall be limited to
persons who occupy classes with that designation at the time of the reduction
in force. Bumping shall be limited to positions covered by merit system
provisions and positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
The
c. When bumping
as set forth in paragraph 60.3(5)"b, " the employee shall
indicate the class, but the appointing authority shall designate the specific
position assignment within the reduction in force unit. The appointing
authority may designate a vacant position if the department of management
certifies that funds are available and after all applicable contract transfer
and recall provisions have been exhausted. The appointing authority shall
notify the employee in writing of the exact location of the position to which
the employee will be assigned. After receipt of the notification, the employee
shall have five calendar days in which to notify the appointing authority in
writing of the acceptance of the position or be laid off.
Bumping to a merit-covered position in lieu of layoff shall be based on retention points regardless of full-time or part-time status and shall not occur if the result would be to cause the removal or reduction of an employee with more total retention points except as provided for in this subrule. If bumping occurs, the employee with the fewest total retention points in the class shall then be subject to reduction in force.
Pay upon bumping shall be in accordance with 11-subrule 53.6(11).
(6)
Recall. Eligibility for recall shall be for one year following the date of the
reduction in force.
a. The following employees
or former employees are eligible to be recalled:
(1) Former employees who have been laid
off.
(2) Employees who have bumped
in lieu of layoff.
(3) Employees
whose hours have been reduced, constituting a reduction in force.
b. Current employees who exercised
bumping rights in accordance with subrule 60.3(5) and former employees
terminated due to layoff in accordance with subrule 60.3(6) shall only be on
the recall list for the class and layoff unit occupied at the time of the
reduction in force.
c. The
following provisions shall apply to the issuance and use of recall lists:
(1) Recall lists shall be issued for merit
system covered positions and contract-covered positions only.
(2) When one or more names are on the recall
list for a class in which a vacancy exists, the agency must fill that vacancy
with a former employee from that list. If no one from a recall list is
selected, the agency shall justify that decision to the director before the
position may be filled by other methods.
(3) The recall alternatives in (2) above must
be exhausted before other eligible lists may be used to fill
vacancies.
d. Recall
shall be by class without regard to an employee's status at the time of layoff
(full-time or part-time).
An employee may remain on the recall list for the same status as that held at the time of layoff after having declined recall to a position with a different status. However, the employee will be removed for the status declined.
e. One failure to
accept appointment to a nontemporary position with the same status as that held
prior to the reduction in force shall negate all further recall
rights.
f. An appointing authority
may refuse to recall employees who do not possess the documented special skills
or abilities required for a position, with the prior approval of the director .
g. Notice of recall shall be sent
with delivery confirmation. Employees must respond to an offer of recall within
five calendar days following the date the notice was received. A notice that is
undeliverable to the most recent address of record will be considered a
declination of recall. The declination of a recall offer shall be documented in
writing by the appointing authority, with a copy to the director .
h. Vacation accrual and accrued sick leave of
recalled employees shall be in accordance with 11-subrule 63.2(2), paragraph
"/, " and 11-subrule 63.3(10), respectively.
i. An employee who bumps in lieu of layoff or
has a work hours reduction, and subsequently leaves employment for any reason,
shall be removed from the recall list.
j. Employees who are recalled shall be
removed from the recall list unless otherwise provided for in these
rules.
k. Pay upon recall shall be
in accordance with rule
11-53.6 (8A).
(7) Reduction in force shall not
be used to avoid or circumvent the provisions or intent of Iowa Code section
8A.413,
or these rules governing reclassification, disciplinary demotion, or discharge.
Actions alleged to be in noncompliance with this rule may be appealed in
accordance with 11-Chapter 61.
Notes
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