Sec. 25-13.03. Layoff.
a. Decision to Eliminate Position.The City Council may eliminate any position in the classified or exempt service as identified by classification and budget account due to lack of funds, work or need. Whenever, in the judgment of the City Council, it becomes necessary to eliminate any position of employment, the employee may be laid off or demoted without disciplinary action.
b. Notice of Layoff.Employees to be laid off shall be given, except during financial emergencies where notice may be shorter, at least thirty (30) calendar days prior written notice stating the following:
1.Reason for layoff
2.Effective date
3.Copy of Rule 13
4.Employee’s position on the rehire list will be forwarded when available.
c. Order of Layoffs.Employees to be laid off within a classification and budget account shall be in the order of temporary part-time, regular part-time, and full time.
d. Determination of Seniority.The layoff of employees resulting from the elimination of positions shall be governed by the following procedures:
1.Seniority will first be determined by the length of continuous employment in a pay status within the employee’s current regular classification in the classified or exempt service. Employees within the same classification shall be subject to lay off in an inverse order of seniority in class. If there is no opportunity for reassignment in accordance with Section e.1.a (where an employee may request reassignment to a previously held position), then Section 2 shall prevail.
2.After the application of Section 1, seniority shall be defined as the length of continuous employment in a pay status within any one or series of regular budgeted positions in the classified or exempt service of the City.
3.In determining seniority, time in regular part-time service will be credited on the same ratio as the part-time hours are to full-time. For example, one year service in a 3/4 time position would equal nine months seniority credit. Time in temporary positions will not be counted toward seniority.
4.If two (2) or more employees have identical seniority, a comprehensive review of their personnel files and a personal interview by a committee comprised of the involved department head, the Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07), and the City Manager shall determine the order of layoff. The determination of this committee shall be final.
e. Reassignment in Lieu of Layoff.Employees may elect reassignment in lieu of layoff in accordance with the following provisions:
1.Reassignment to the same or previously held position:
a.An employee may request reassignment to a classification in which the employee had previously held regular status anywhere in the City organization, provided the employee is more senior than the least senior employee in that classification. An employee may only be reassigned to that position within the classification held by the least senior employee.
b.An employee may request reassignment to the same classification anywhere in the City organization, provided the employee is more senior than the least senior employee in that classification. An employee may only be reassigned to that position within the classification that is held by the least senior employee.
2.Reassignment to a position not previously held:
a.An employee may be reassigned to a different department in lieu of layoff if, at the time of layoff, a vacancy exists for which the employee is qualified as defined below in Paragraph 5.
b.An employee may request reassignment within the department to a lower related classification which has the same or less knowledge, skills, and ability requirements as the employee’s current classification, provided the employee is more senior than the least senior employee in that classification, provided that the employee may only be reassigned to that position within the classification that is held by the least senior employee. The determination of qualification will be defined below in Paragraph 5.
3.Regular part-time employees shall not be reassigned to full-time positions unless a vacancy exists and there is no eligible full time employee available to fill the vacancy under the provisions of this section.
4.An employee who has been reassigned to a lower classification as a result of layoff will be reappointed to the employee’s pre-layoff classification if a vacancy in that classification occurs.
5.The determination of whether an employee is qualified to work in another classification will be made by the City Manager upon recommendation of the department head and the Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07). In making this determination, the City Manager may require the employee to successfully complete any of the examination components set forth in Section 7.04 of these Rules.
f. Re-employment.The names of employees reassigned or laid off in accordance with this procedure shall be placed on a re-employment list in order of seniority for a period not to exceed twenty-four (24) months. The employee highest on the list for a particular classification when a vacancy occurs in this classification, or in a subordinate related classification in any department shall be offered the appointment without going through the normal selection process, but subject to the following procedures:
1.Persons offered such re-employment opportunity may be required to pass a normal preemployment physical examination prior to reappointment and any associated physical agility tests for the classification.
2.An employee offered re-employment through this procedure must be available for reemployment within two weeks after it is offered.
3.An employee’s name will be removed from the re-employment list if the employee turns down an offer of reemployment or fails to respond to a written offer sent by return receipt requested to the last known address within ten (10) working days, or if the employee submits a written request to be removed from the list.
4.Upon re-employment, all rights and benefits acquired by the employee prior to layoff shall be restored, including credit for years of employment towards seniority including previous pay step. In no event, however, will the City be required to restore credits for vacation or other benefits paid out at the time of separation or coverage for any group insurance programs for the period the employee was not working for the City.
5.An interested employee on a re-employment list may elect to be available for temporary part-time work, and shall be given preference for work in any department in the employee’s former classification, or other classification for which the employee is qualified or as defined above. Any interested employee must provide a telephone number and address in writing to the Personnel Office where they can be reached. Failure of an employee to respond to a written notice of such an offer of work within ten (10) working days shall result in disqualification.
g. Job Counseling and Placement Services.It is the City’s intent to assist laid off employees through the transition from City service. To the extent possible, the City will provide job counseling to employees facing layoffs. The Personnel Department will function as a clearinghouse for information and referrals on outside employment, training opportunities, and potential re-employment opportunities with the City of Monterey.
h. Retraining.It is the City’s intent to consider on-the-job training programs for laid off employees and employees designated for layoff who may be interested in transitioning to other available positions within the City for which they may or may not be fully qualified. If an employee’s qualifications are judged to meet the minimum desirable qualifications, as outlined in the job description or, if, in the opinion of the Personnel Office and department head, it is reasonable to expect the employee to meet the minimum desirable requirements within a 90-day period of on-the-job training, the City will consider the laid off employee along with any other employee or applicants. An employee who is placed in a position under this provision shall have their name removed from any re-employment lists. If the position in which the employee is placed is considered a promotion, the employee shall serve a probationary period as defined in Section 10.02.
i. Eligibility for City Promotional Examinations.In an effort to re-employ laid off individuals, the City will allow persons on a re-employment list the opportunity to compete in closed, promotional exams.
1.All persons on a re-employment list will receive notice of any promotional opportunity within the City service. Further, if only one qualified person on a re-employment list submits an application for the promotional exam, such exam shall remain in-house. If the one promotional applicant fails the examination, the exam may then be posted as an open recruitment and outside applications invited.
2.The City shall mail notices of all promotional examination opportunities to persons in a laid off status for a period of twenty-four (24) months. This provision shall be satisfied by the City depositing copies of the promotional examination announcements in the U.S. Mail no less than five (5) working days prior to the closing date of the application for the promotional examination.
3.Persons hired from a promotional list shall have the same benefits as re-employment, except that they will serve probation at the highest step closest to their previously held step.
j. Health Insurance.Each employee is eligible to continue group health insurance benefits under the provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) with the City’s group health plan.
k. Employee Request for Review.An employee directly affected by the operation of this policy may, within ten (10) working days after notice of layoff is received, request a meeting with the employee’s department head to review the application of this policy as it affects the employee’s status. The employee may be accompanied by the representative of their choice.
If the employee is not satisfied with the review provided by his/her department head, a further review of the application of the layoff policy may be requested by the employee with the City Manager. The determination of the City Manager shall be final.