27 Miss. Code. R. 110-7.3 - [Effective until 7/1/2025] REDUCTION-IN-FORCE

  1. § 27-110-7.3.1 - [Effective until 7/1/2025] Furlough

Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the tenure of an employee with state service status shall be continued during good behavior and the satisfactory (Successful) performance of assigned duties. Mississippi Code Annotated § 25-9-127 provides for a Reduction-in-Force policy.

A. Reduction-in-Force - An appointing authority may reduce the number of employees in a state service agency whenever deemed necessary for the following reasons:
1. Shortage of funds or work;
2. Material change in duties or organization; or
3. Merger of agencies.

When requesting approval of the reduction-in-force, the agency must provide a written explanation or justification to MSPB citing one or more of the above reasons for the reduction-in-force. If the cited reason is a shortage of funds, the agency shall submit a written certification of a funds shortage from the Department of Finance and Administration or written certification of a funds shortage by the agency head. In addition, the agency must submit a proposed organization chart, a proposed staffing plan, and a current staffing plan to MSPB for approval thirty (30) calendar days before MSPB will act upon a reduction-in-force request. Further, a reduction-in-force shall be effective no earlier than fourteen (14) calendar days from the MSPB approval date.

Upon emergency request by an agency, MSPB may waive the thirty (30) day calendar requirement to allow an agency to request approval to implement a reduction-in-force pursuant to the Expedited Implementation Procedure outlined in subsection (B) under circumstances otherwise not qualifying for such a procedure. In considering whether to grant the waiver, it shall consider the emergency nature of the request and whether there has been sufficient time to review the agency's written justification, proposed organization chart, and proposed staffing plan.

B. Expedited Implementation Procedure

During periods of severe shortfalls of state revenue, an appointing authority may request approval on an expedited basis to implement a reduction-in-force. When requesting approval of a reduction-in-force, the agency must provide a written explanation or justification to MSPB for the reduction-in-force because of a shortage of funds to the agency, including a written certification of a general funds shortage from the Department of Finance and Administration or a written certification of a special or federal funds shortage from the agency. The agency also must submit a proposed organization chart, a proposed staffing plan to MSPB for approval, in the form required by MSPB, and a current staffing plan at least ten (10) calendar days before MSPB will act on a reduction-in-force request. If an agency requests expedited consideration of its request in compliance with this procedure, MSPB will review such a request and make its determination regarding the request within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the required proposed organization chart and proposed staffing plan. A reduction-in-force approved by MSPB pursuant to this subsection will be effective no earlier than ten (10) calendar days after the date of approval by MSPB.

C. Method of Reduction-in-Force
1. A reduction-in-force because of shortage of funds or work or because of material change in duties or organization may be administered by the following method(s):
i. By functional area (e.g., Office, Bureau, Division, Branch, Section, Unit);
ii. By location (e.g., counties, districts, state office, agency-wide);
iii. By job class; or
iv. By a combination of the preceding factors.

An agency may exempt a program area or a certain number of positions in a program area from a reduction-in-force when such an exemption is required by federal law or grant requirements.

Once the method of reduction-in-force is determined and prior to implementation, each agency shall submit to MSPB a written statement of the method of the reduction-in-force to be administered and the proposed effective date. Such statement is required to establish a record. Then Sections C and D herein are applied. The result of applying the order for reduction-in-force formula (Section C) and the retention point formula (Section D) must be submitted to MSPB for purpose of establishing a record. Afterward, Section E herein is applied.

2. The method of reduction-in-force because of the merger of agencies shall be administered as follows:
i. First - by functional area and/or funding source
ii. Second - by location, (e.g., counties, districts, state office, agency-wide)
iii. Third - by job class or job class series

When requesting approval of a reduction-in-force by merger of agencies, each agency shall submit to MSPB a written statement of the functional area(s) and/or funding source(s), locations(s) and job class(es), which are targeted for reduction-in-force and the proposed effective date. Such statement is required for the purpose of establishing a record. Then Sections C and D herein are applied. The result of applying the order for reduction-in-force formula (Section D) and the retention point formula (Section C) must be submitted to MSPB for purpose of establishing a record. Afterward, Section E herein is applied.

D. Order for Reduction-in-Force - The reduction-in-force formula shall be in the order that follows:
1. Those with emergency appointments;
2. Those with probationary or indefinite probationary appointments;
3. State Service employees.
E. Retention Point Formula for Reduction-in-Force - In situations when not all employees are affected by the proposed methodology, an agency shall use the Retention Point Formula for a Reduction-in-Force. State service status employees shall be the last group of employees to be separated in a reduction-in- force. When state service employees must be separated, employees with the lowest number of retention points based on seniority, performance ratings, and veterans' preference shall be dismissed first. The retention point formula shall be as follows:

Seniority (1 Point for Each Year of State Service) x 40%

Converted Performance Rating Average x 40%

+Veterans Preference Score x 20%

TOTAL RETENTION POINTS

1. Seniority (40% of total score) - An employee shall be credited with one point for each year or portion thereof of continuous state service as a state service employee for a total not to exceed thirty (30) points. In calculating retention points for a partial month of service, one-twelfth of a point is credited to employees with service equal to fifteen days in the month. No credit is given for service of less than fifteen days of the month.
2. Performance Rating (40% of total score) - Each agency shall use the three most recent annual performance ratings, as recorded in agency files, and assign retention points to calculate the Adjusted Rating Score (ARS), as of the date the agency submits the organizational chart and staffing plan.
i. The retention points for each of the three performance ratings shall be averaged together and converted to an Adjusted Rating Score (ARS) using the Performance Rating Conversion Chart. The resulting score should be rounded to the tenth decimal place.
ii. If an employee has received less than three performance evaluations, then the employee receives a presumptive "Successful" for each missing evaluation. An appraisal rating rendered more than three years before the date the agency submits the organizational chart and staffing plan for reduction-in-force will not be used to calculate an employee's Adjusted Rating Score.
iii. Employee ratings are very critical whenever an agency has to implement a reduction-in-force. Ratings not completed and recorded pursuant to policy and procedures will not be used in the computation of the Adjusted Rating Score and a presumptive rating of "Successful" will be used.
3. Veterans' Preference (20% of total score)- Veterans shall be awarded four (4) points, and disabled veterans shall be awarded eight (8) points.
4. Performance Rating Conversion Chart

The average of the employee's three most recent annual performance ratings shall be converted to an Adjusted Rating Score as identified below:

Average Rating

Performance Rating Points

Under 2.00

0 points

2.00 - 2.19

3 points

2.20 - 2.39

6 points

2.40 - 2.59

9 points

2.60 - 2.79

12 points

2.80 - 3.00

15 points

If an agency must use the Retention Point Formula for a Reduction-in-Force for employees who do not have three annual performance reviews under the 3-point system, previous annual review scores on the 4-point scale should be converted to a 3-point scale.

For example, an employee's previous rating of 3.5 out of 4 would be converted to a 2.625 out of 3.

EXAMPLE FOR COMPUTATION OF TOTAL RETENTION POINTS:

Employee A profile:

* Continuous state service of 15 years = 15 points based on seniority

* Performance ratings of 2.3, 2.5, and 2.2 with an average of 2.3 = 6 points based on performance (see conversion chart in E.4)

* Employee A is not a veteran and would receive 0 points for veterans' preference. Employee A's total retention points would be calculated as follows:

15(.4) + 6(.4) + 0(.2) = 6 + 2.4 + 0 = 8.4

Employee A's final score would be 8.4.

Employee B profile:

* Continuous state service of 7 years and 3 months = 7.25 points based on seniority

* Performance ratings of 2.7, 2.8, and 2.9 with an average of 2.8 = 15 points based on performance (see conversion chart in E.4)

* Employee B is not a veteran and would receive 0 points for veterans' preference.

Employee B's total retention points would be calculated as follows:

7.25(.4) + 15(.4) + 0(.2) = 2.9 + 6 + 0 = 8.9

Employee B's final score would be 8.9

Employee C profile:

* Continuous state service of 5 years and 10 months = 5.83 points based on seniority

* Performance ratings of 2.5, 2.8, and 2.8 with an average of 2.70 = 12 points based on performance (see conversion chart in E.4)

* Employee C is a disabled veteran and would receive 8 points for veterans' preference.

Employee C's total retention points would be calculated as follows:

5.83(.4) + 12(.4) + 8(.2) = 2.33 + 4.8 + 1.6 = 8.73

Employee C's final score would be 8.73

In this example, Employee A has the lowest retention points and would be dismissed first, followed by Employee C then Employee B.

F. Employees who will be terminated by a reduction-in-force shall be notified in writing of the effective date of the reduction-in-force termination at least ten (10) working days prior to the effective date of the reduction-in-force. The written notification shall cite the reasons for the layoff. The appointing authority and MSPB shall attempt to place affected employees in other positions for which they are qualified. See Chapter 4 of this manual.
G. When requesting a separation in OSR of an employee due to a Reduction-in-Force, the following shall be in effect:
1. The effective date of the separation shall be the last day the employee worked.
2. An individual cannot receive payment for accrued personal leave unless records reflect that a termination date has been entered in OSR by the requesting agency.
3. Online submission of the separation of the employee using the appropriate separation and Reduction-in-Force reason is required.
4. Positions affected by a Reduction-in-Force cannot be filled, reallocated, or abolished and reestablished for a period of one year following the reduction-in- force.

Notes

27 Miss. Code. R. 110-7.3
Amended 7/1/2021 Amended 7/3/2023 Amended 7/12/2024 Amended 2/21/2025

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