REDUCTION IN FORCE Putting It All Together

REDUCTION IN FORCE Putting It All Together March 2015 OBJECTIVES  Understanding Reduction-in-Force Process  Understanding effects on Retirement Process and Group Insurance  Understanding Office of Human Resources/Department Placement Efforts  Understanding the Timeline Outline of Topics               Governing Authority/MCPR Provisions RIF Rights/Policy Seniority Retirement and Group Insurance Notification OHR Responsibilities Placement Efforts Salary Considerations Severance Pay Priority Rights Appeal Rights Timeline Reorganizations Labor/EEO Governing Authority   Article 27 of the collective bargaining agreement between Montgomery County Government & MCGEO referencing AP 4-19 (November 7, 1991), Reduction in Force (represented employees-OPT/SLT) Montgomery County Personnel Regulations, Section 30 (nonrepresented employees) MCPR Provisions    RIF can be based on service needs, seniority, or performance Full-time and part-time positions are treated separately If a position is abolished in a department or agency, only the employees in the same occupational class in that department are subject to the RIF Vacancies in the same class within a department must be abolished and probationary and temporary employees in the same class within a department must be terminated before merit system employees MCPR Provisions     Employees are displaced by inverse seniority Departments may request from OHR a service needs exception to the use of inverse seniority to maintain employees within a class that require unique knowledge, skills, and abilities that are not required for every position in the class and that cannot be acquired by other employees in months or less An nonrepresented employee who is RIFed as a result of a service needs exception has the right to appeal to MSPB The Union may appeal on behalf of a represented employee with merit system status under Article 10 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement Expanded RIF Process (MCGEO POSITIONS ONLY)     No represented merit employee in an affected job class will be terminated if there is a probationary, temporary, or seasonal employee in the same represented job class in another department; Once all alternatives to RIF are exhausted (transfers, demotions, DSRs) OHR will determine if there are any probationary, temporary, seasonal employees in affected job classes If there are probationary, temporary, or seasonal employees in an affected job class, then the employees will be terminated to create vacancies; Such vacancies will be made available to affected employees in that class who qualify for the positions; The least senior employees in the affected class where the RIF is taking place will be offered a transfer to the vacant positions (provided they qualify for the position) RIF Rights  Priority Consideration  Reinstatement  Salary Considerations  Effect on Benefits RIF Rights (continued)  Applies to all affected merit employees  Does not apply to probationary or temporary employees  Applies to “term” employees only if the term is not completed or position was not created for specified period of time or term RIF Policy  Affected class includes all classes in occupational series at or below the budget level (ie., HR Specialist III,II, I and PAI)  Positions identified by common work year (full-time, part-time, year-round, school-year, etc.) 10 Placement Efforts (continued)  If more than one RIFee applies for a position, the Hiring Manager may select the RIFee with the overall qualifications best suited for the position     Part-time employees have first priority to parttime jobs and full-time employees have first priority to full-time jobs All qualified RIFees should be interviewed OHR will meet on a regular basis to coordinate placement efforts Last minute placements may be made without interviews (ie., if the employee qualifies for a position, they are placed) 23 Salary Considerations  If an affected employee accepts a voluntary demotion (position below their current grade/status), and their salary exceeds maximum salary of new pay grade, they will keep their salary for years 24 Outcomes     Employees may receive transfers (same position, grade, status) They have no additional rights Some employees may be demoted If their salary exceeds the maximum salary for the new pay grade, there is no reduction in salary for years These employees maintain priority consideration rights to their previous grade (refer to AP 4-19 and/or Personnel Regulations, Section 30) If alternative placement is not found for an employee before the termination date, the affected employee may chose to be terminated or take LWOP for up to one year Employees terminated or demoted will be placed on a reemployment list for reinstatement They:    Retain reinstatement rights for years May be eligible for severance pay May be non-competitively reappointed for a year period 25 Severance Pay  Additional compensation granted to certain probationary employees and certain employees in the Retirement Savings Plan and Guaranteed Retirement Income Plan whose employment is terminated by a RIF or other administrative action 26 Severance Plan-RSP/GRIP 27 Severance PlanProbationary Employees Severance Pay for Probationary Employees Months of service completed: to months at least 3-8 months at least 9-11 months Severance benefit: none week of pay weeks of pay 28 Group Insurance Post Separation Eligibility ERS Members must meet the eligibility requirements for:    Normal (as defined by ERS Group) Early (as defined by ERS Group) DSR (in the case of a DSR, group insurance benefits are effective at the time of separation, even if the member has not yet met Early Retirement) RSP/GRIP - In general, employees are eligible for post separation group insurance if they meet the ERS criteria for a Normal, Early or DSR If the employee is not eligible for post separation group insurance, they may continue under COBRA 29 Priority Rights     Represented employees – unlimited placements for years or until they are made whole Non-represented employees – placements within the year period, to include the initial placement An employee is entitled to priority consideration for announced vacancies in the same branch of government as that from which the employee was affected or displaced However, an employee of the Legislative or Judicial branches hired before 8/1/83 is entitled to priority consideration for announced vacancies in all branches A non-MLS employee may not claim priority to an MLS position 30 Appeal Rights   An non-represented employee with merit system status who is demoted or whose employment is terminated due to RIF may appeal under Section 34 and 35 of the Personnel Regulations The Union may appeal on behalf of a represented employee with merit system status under Article 10 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement 31 Timeline      March 13, 2015 – Seniority lists provided to departments March 16, 2015 – Departments meet with affected employees April 15, 2015 – Notices of Intent letters sent to affected employees End of May – Final Notice letters sent June 30, 2015 – Affected employees separated if placement not found 32 Reorganization Consideration  In the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the County and MCGEO under Article 9.9(c)(1)   A total of 50 individual position studies were accepted for FY2015 OHR had not anticipated conducting position studies that are occupied by employees Therefore and where necessary, it is recommended that  departments assign duties from an abolished vacated position to an employee in the same classification or grade of the abolished position  OHR declines most special classification study requests  If the Department absolutely must reorganize, they will need to obtain CAO’s authorization, then the department should:    Consider alignment with the County Executive’s Priorities and Values Consult Section 9-5 (Special Classification Studies) of the Personnel Regulations and designated classification specialist Send memorandum from the Department Head to the Director of OHR with objective, org charts, and position descriptions   33 Labor Relations     Until the budget is officially released by the County Executive, the content is confidential The County Executive’s recommended budget will be released on March 16, 2015 when it is transmitted to the County Council for review and final approval Until this date, Departments may not engage employees in any discussion of the content of the budget Before communicating with represented employees, the department must provide the Union and OHR Labor Relations with advance copies of any written correspondence that they plan to disseminate to employees and if the Department intends to meet with employees, the Union must be given sufficient advance notice and the opportunity to participate in the meetings Questions regarding union interactions may be directed to your OHR Labor Relations Specialist 34 EEO          All employment actions must be conducted in accordance with Federal, State, and local discrimination laws, as well as County discrimination regulations/policy The EEO Compliance Team will conduct an adverse impact analysis of affected positions Discriminatory intent versus impact Increase in complaints Retaliation The team will review the demographics of the affected employees according to race, gender, and age Please ensure that you make no reference to an employee’s protected class, particularly age, or inappropriately broad statements regarding length of service when discussing retirement options You should instruct your management team to monitor the workplace to ensure against inappropriate comments, jokes, or other remarks which may be construed to relate to this issue and potential EEO violations All such complaints must be referred to the EEO Office immediately 35 Questions and Answers  Please visit the OHR website under “Staffing and Recruitment” then “Reduction-In-Force” for more information and resources          Administrative Procedure 4-19, Reduction-in-Force Article 27 (MCGEO Collective Bargaining Agreement) Personnel Regulations, Section 30, Reduction-in-Force Severance Pay RIF FAQs Putting it All Together – RIF powerpoint Montgomery County Code, Discontinued Service Retirement DSR Memo (3/13/15 OHR) DSR Sample Letter 36 OHR Questions & Answers        George Lacy – Labor (3-5008) Melissa Voight Davis –Recruitment and Selection (7-5071) Angela Washington – EEO (7-5015) Kaye Beckley – Business Operations and Performance Management (7-5041) Karen Bass – Benefits (7-5054) Anita Brady – Training (7-5066) MCERP – Retirement (7-8230) 37