REDUCTION IN FORCE Putting It All Together

must be abolished and probationary and temporary employees in the same class within a department must be terminated before merit system employees... Expanded RIF Process MCGEO POSITIONS

REDUCTION IN FORCE

Putting It All Together

March 2015

Process

Process and Group Insurance

Resources/Department Placement

Efforts

Governing Authority

agreement between Montgomery County

Government & MCGEO referencing AP 4-19 (November 7, 1991), Reduction in Force

(represented employees-OPT/SLT)

Section 30 (non-represented employees)

MCPR Provisions

performance Full-time and part-time positions are treated separately.

only the employees in the same occupational class in that department are subject to the RIF.

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 6 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 ( continued )

temporary employees.

term is not completed or position was not created for specified period of time

or term.

RIF Policy

occupational series at or below the

budget level (ie., HR Specialist III,II, I and PAI).

year (full-time, part-time, year-round, school-year, etc.).

Seniority

be calculated by the department and verified

by OHR based on:

the employee had a break in service).

overall 3 year period.

certain circumstances.

Seniority ( continued )

County Employment:

County employee in a full-time and part-time

position This does not include:

 time spent as a temporary employee

 time in a non-pay or LWOP status that exceeds 10

workdays, unless the employee was in a non-pay or LWOP status while:

 on FMLA leave under Section 19;

 on military leave under Section 22;

 performing the duties associated with the employee’s elected position as a member of the Maryland General Assembly while the General Assembly is in session; or

 on a furlough day under Section 30.

Seniority ( continued )

pro-rated on the basis of the number of hours

worked per week

will determine seniority based on AP 4-19

and/or Personnel Regulations Section 30,

depending on the appropriate circumstance

Seniority and Performance

performance unless the performance evaluation plan used

by the department for the last 3 years:

 Included 4 rating categories

 Was used uniformly to evaluate the performance of employees

in the affected class

 Is consistent with Section 11 of the Personnel Regulations for non-bargaining unit employees

Discontinued Service

Retirement (DSR)

Plan/Guaranteed Retirement Income

Plan are not eligible for DSR.

considered prior to conducting the RIF.

DSR Conditions

most senior in the class, or the most senior employee(s) in the class have indicated that they are not interested in DSR

for a DSR (i.e., has at least 10 years of

service)

 Department inputs action in Oracle;

 DSR is confirmed and RIF is avoided.

 The number of DSRs given is equal to the number of position abolishments

Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) and Guaranteed Retirement Income Plan (GRIP)

earnings at 3 years membership or age 62

earnings at 3 years membership

up until the time age 70 ½; during that time, earnings accrue and funds may be

transferred among investment alternatives

Notification Process

 Notices of Intent will be issued April 15,

2015; letters prepared by OHR

representatives For employees who may be

on leave, letters will be sent via certified mail and regular mail prior to April 14, 2015

to any position they qualify for at their same grade or below

Notification Process ( continued )

prior written notice of termination

alternative placement or retirement, OHR will notify affected employees in writing and will rescind their priority consideration

OHR Responsibilities

find employment

RIF and DSR processes

interviewing skills

Providing financial and benefits counseling

Placement Efforts

 Once Notices of Intent letters are sent to employees, OHR

begins placement efforts to transition affected employees to vacant positions.

 Departments will provide listing of all viable vacancies to OHR.

 All vacancies will be posted on the County’s career site

(www.montgomerycountymd.gov/careers).

 We may utilize an abbreviated Requisition format for vacancies.

 Any employee in an affected class may claim “priority

consideration,” not necessarily the least senior employee.

 RIFees must meet the minimum qualifications for positions

 Employees apply for available vacancies; departments interview and selections are made for candidates.

 Employees must use their County Single Sign On account to

apply and indicate that they are applying for RIF Priority.

Placement Efforts ( continued )

Hiring Manager may select the RIFee with the overall qualifications best suited for the position.

 Part-time employees have first priority to part-time jobs and full-time employees have first priority to full-time jobs.

placement efforts.

interviews (ie., if the employee qualifies for a

position, they are placed).

Salary Considerations

voluntary demotion (position below

their current grade/status), and their

salary exceeds maximum salary of new pay grade, they will keep their salary

for 2 years.

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 2 years

May be eligible for severance pay

Severance Pay

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

Severance Plan-RSP/GRIP

Under COMCOR 33.140.01, Severance Pay for Certain Retirement Savings Plan Participants,

the County must pay severance pay as shown in the table below to an eligible employee who participates in the Retirement Savings Plan or the Guaranteed Retirement Income Plan:

Severance Pay for RSP Participants

Years of service completed: Severance benefit:

0 to 1 none over one to 5 6 weeks of employee’s final earnings over 5 to 7 8 weeks of employee’s final earnings over 7 to 9 10 weeks of employee’s final earnings over 9 12 weeks of employee’s final earnings

Severance Plan-Probationary Employees

Severance Pay for Probationary Employees

Months of service

completed: Severance benefit:

0 to 2 months none

at least 3-8 months 1 week of pay

at least 9-11 months 2 weeks of pay

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

Priority Rights

 Represented employees – unlimited placements for 2 years or until they are made whole.

the 2 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.

Appeal Rights

system status who is demoted or whose

employment is terminated due to RIF may

appeal under Section 34 and 35 of the

Personnel Regulations

represented employee with merit system

status under Article 10 of the Collective

placement not found.

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

 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

 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.

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

OHR Questions & Answers

Selection (7-5071)

Performance Management (7-5041)