902 Reduction in Force (Lay Off)

Reductions in force may result from changes in programs, cutbacks in funding, reorganization or decreased workload. Affected employees will be evaluated for continued employment on the basis of seniority and past performance.

The Department Head or his designee, in anticipation of a reduction in force (RIF), should outline the business reasons that make the RIF necessary and should prepare a rationale. The Department Head will identify the area of layoff in which a RIF will occur. The area of RIF may include all or any part of County government; a department, a division, or any organizational or program sub-unit of a department or division [including a current County position classification title(s) within these organizational units]. As part of the reduction in force, the Department Head or his designee should also develop a plan of action for affected employees. The plan should include the name, classification title, performance rating, years of service and a skills/education/work history inventory of all affected employees in the area of the RIF. The plan should also include a description of:

Copies of both these plans should be submitted to the County Manager and Human Resources.

All non-status employees (i.e., temporary/probationary) in the area of RIF shall be separated from County employment prior to the effective date of the RIF; these employees are not part of the reduction in force. Temporary positions or permanent positions occupied by non-status employees in the area of RIF will be offered to regular employees with the same class title who are scheduled for layoff, according to their retention standing. Non-status employees in any area of RIF are subject to separation without right of appeal upon displacement by employees in regular status in accordance with the retention register.

The separation of an employee under the terms of a time-limited appointment is not a RIF separation.

To provide an equitable basis for determining the order of retention, all affected employees in the area(s) of RIF are to be evaluated against one another to determine their retention standing.

All regular employees in the area of RIF will be grouped together by current County position classification title. If the reduction in force affects more than one class title, each class title will be treated separately.

[Note: a classification is a specific group of positions which are similar in duties and responsibilities such that they justify common treatment in selection, compensation, and other employment processes and the same descriptive title may be used to designate all positions in the same class, regardless of the agencies in which they are located. This is not to be confused with a Class Series, which is a group of classes (two or more) in the same job family but assigned to different pay bands, such as Accountant I, Accountant II, Accountant III.] To determine regular employees' retention standing, the following formula shall be used:

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Seniority: grant one-half point for each completed Wake month of service. Prior to December 16, 1990, employees received credit for partial months worked if they were in pay status more than one-half the working days in the month. Beginning December 16, 1990, employees receive credit for service time if they have been in active status at least one-half the working hours in the FLSA periods in the pay cycle.

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Performance: using the most recent performance rating, excluding any performance report completed within 90 days prior to the effective date of the RIF, grant 200 points for an overall score in the top 25% (75%-100%) of the rating unit; 150 points for an overall score in the range of 50%-74% of the rating unit; 100 points for an overall score in the range of 25%-49% of the rating unit; and 25 points for an overall score in the range of 0%-24% of the rating unit. In the case of an employee who has been with the County at least 12 months but less than 15 months, the probationary review will be used to determine a performance score.

□	Should the retention standing of any employees be tied after the formula has been applied, the employee(s) to be retained will be selected by a comparison of the points received for the overall score of the most recent performance appraisal.

Retention registers will be prepared by the Department Head or designee, in consultation with Human Resources, according to current county position classification title, listing all employees with that class title in the designated area of RIF by name in order of their retention standing. The person with the highest retention score will be listed first; the person with the lowest retention score will be separated first.

Although the County cannot guarantee placement for all employees whose positions are affected by a RIF, the County will attempt to locate alternate County employment for affected employees who have an overall performance rating of “meets or exceeds expectations” and who file a written request for alternate County employment with their department head or designee within five (5) working days of receipt of the notification of RIF. Under those circumstances, the County will attempt to locate an alternate position for the employee within the same department. If no alternate position is available in the same department, the County will attempt to locate an alternate position in other departments of County government.

When a vacant position exists in the same salary band or a lower salary band as the position from which the employee is being laid off and the employee meets the minimum training, education and experience, certification and licensure requirements for that position, he may be considered for placement into that position. Employees who accept alternate employment rather than lay-off under the RIF will not be eligible for any severance option offered as part of the RIF. See Section 304, “Pay Rate Upon Promotion and Demotion” or Section 305, “Pay Rate Upon Reclassification and Transfer”. Employees who accept alternate County employment in lieu of lay-off will be required to serve a six-month probationary period. (See Wake County Personnel Ordinance, Section 5 and Human Resources Administration Manual Section 404, Types of Appointments) If alternate County employment is not offered to an employee within thirty (30) calendar days of the RIF notification, the employee will be laid off and will then be eligible for any severance option offered as part of the RIF.

Each employee identified for RIF shall be given a written notice of the date of the RIF; the reason(s) for the layoff; information regarding retention registers (if applicable); options regarding alternate employment, and appeal rights at least two weeks prior to the effective date of the action. In lieu of two weeks notice, the employee would receive two (2) weeks pay.

A regular employee separated because of a reduction in force is eligible for recall to a position in the designated area of the RIF with the same job title and same duties as the one from which he was laid off for one year from the effective date of the RIF. If an employee declines an offer or fails to respond to an offer of recall within five (5) working days, the employer may make the position available to others in accordance with their position on the retention register. Employees who accept a position as a result of recall will be considered reinstated from a RIF (see paragraph below, “Reinstatement from a RIF”) and will be required to serve a new one-year probationary period.

An employee who was terminated from County employment due to a reduction-in-force and who is reinstated (within one year of the RIF date) to County employment will have sick leave and County service time restored. County service time will be restored for purposes of determining annual leave eligibility, longevity eligibility and retiree health eligibility, in accordance with the appropriate County policy. To qualify for this, the employee must have requested in writing to be placed in an alternate position within five (5) working days of receipt of the notification of RIF and must not have refused any position offered. All reinstated employees under this paragraph must serve a new one-year probationary period.

When an employee believes that reduction-in-force procedures have not been correctly applied to him, he may make a written request for review to his department head, specifying the reason(s) for the review, within five (5) working days after receipt of written notice of the RIF. The Department Head must respond in writing.

At the written request of the employee, the department head's determination may be reviewed by the County Manager or his designee, if the request is filed within five (5) working days from the date of the ruling made by the department head.

The County Manager's written determination will be based upon the written request for review or, at his discretion, an interview with the employee and other information gathered during the appeals process.

For an employee not subject to the State Personnel Act, the County Manager's decision is final. Any employee subject to the State Personnel Act may file a petition for a contested case with the Office of Administrative Hearings once he has exhausted the County's internal process.

A regular, salaried employee with a full-time equivalency of .50 or greater who has lost his position with the County as a result of a reduction in force will be eligible for the severance pay option. An eligible employee who elects to receive severance pay under this option:

□	Must agree to not bring, continue or maintain any grievances, administrative appeals, or legal proceedings relating to his employment against Wake County Government, its officers, and employees;

□	Will not be eligible for re-employment with Wake County Government for the number of weeks calculated in the severance payout, unless repayment is made in advance of re-employment for any severance received in excess of the period of actual separation from the County.

An eligible employee who agrees to the terms and conditions of the severance pay option will receive a lump sum payment equal to two (2) weeks of pay for every full year of salaried service with Wake County as of the date of separation, up to a maximum payment equal to forty (40) weeks.

Note: The following employees, although they may meet the criteria outlined above, will not be eligible: