STATE OF LOUISIANA

DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

 

 

General Circular No. 001627

 

To:              Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

 

Subject:         Sample Layoff Plan for “Katrina” Layoffs

 

Issue Date:                             September 30, 2005

 

As promised in General Circular 1625 issued September 26, 2005, this General Circular contains the SAMPLE layoff plan for “Katrina” layoffs (layoffs involving those employees who have not contacted the agency). 

 

You may, of course, use this sample plan as is, however, you are urged to read the sample plan carefully before using it to ensure you are familiar with all parts of it.  Agencies are not required to use this sample plan and may submit plans specific to their own unique situations.

 

There are a few points in this plan that we believe will be important for “Katrina” layoffs.  These are:

 

1.              The actual layoff will be applied to those employees who have not contacted the agency by the effective date of the layoff.   The exceptions that may be granted for the “Katrina” layoff are applicable only to employees whose whereabouts are unknown; therefore, employees who contact the agency after the plan has been issued but before the effective date of the layoff should NOT be included in the layoff that finally occurs as a result of this plan.

 

2.              In listing the commuting area for the plan, you may wish to request an exception to the definition of “commuting area” (See Rule 1.9.01) in order to have a statewide layoff of all those employees who have not contacted the agency since Hurricane Katrina.

 

3.              This sample plan contains an exception to the rules governing displacement so that no displacement offers are made.

 

4.              The sample plan contains an a request for an exception to the department preferred reemployment requirements whereby no department preferred list would be established immediately following the layoff; instead, the sample plan asks for approval to place employees on the department preferred reemployment list for a six-month period after the effective date of the layoff, as employees report in and make themselves available for work.

 

 

The sample plan contains other provisions and exception requests, but it is our opinion that the ones listed above will be the most important ones to consider if your agency finds it must conduct a “Katrina” layoff.

 

If there are any questions, please contact the Program Assistance Division at (225) 342-8274 or e-mail fran.williams@la.gov.    The staff of the Program Assistance Division is ready to talk to or meet with you at any time.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

s/Anne S. Soileau

Acting Director

 

 

 

 

Layoff Plan for Employees Who Have NOT Contacted Their Agency Since Hurricane Katrina

 

 

(Date)

 

 

Ms. Anne Soileau, Acting Director

Department of State Civil Service

P. O. Box 94111

Baton Rouge, LA  70804-9111

 

Dear Ms. Soileau:

 

Hurricane Katrina has created a situation in which our agency can no longer afford to pay employees who have not contacted our agency since the hurricane and whose whereabouts are unknown.  Therefore, in accordance with Civil Service Rule 17.15, the Department of ___________________ is submitting this layoff plan requesting approval to implement a layoff of its employees who have not contacted our agency since Hurricane Katrina.  If such an employee contacts our agency before the effective date of this layoff, he or she will not be included in this layoff.  We have provided the required information below in the order listed in Civil Service Rule 17.15.

 

  1. The affected organizational unit is (choose from the options in Rule 1.21.1).

 

  1. The reason for this layoff is stated in the first paragraph of this letter.  This layoff is proposed both for budgetary reasons and the need to plan and implement work that must be performed in the continued absence of these employees.

 

  1. List any budgetary measures that may have been taken to help avoid the layoff, if any.  Example:  Your agency may have furloughed this group of employees before proposing this layoff; you may have cut spending and hiring, etc. 

 

  1. The proposed effective date of this layoff is beginning of business on (date) for each affected employee.

 

  1. The commuting area to be used for this layoff will be (refer to Rule 1.9.01 for the options).  Note:  You may wish to ask for an exception to the definition of “commuting area” for this layoff in order to have a statewide layoff of all those employees who have not contacted your agency since Hurricane Katrina.  This is especially true since this layoff plan asks to eliminate displacement (bumping) offers for this group of employees.  The main purpose for a definition of “commuting area” is to indicate the geographic area in which an employee may displace (bump) another employee; if there is no displacement, “commuting area” is not applicable. 

 

  1. I request an exception to making displacement (bumping) offers in this layoff.  The affected employees have not contacted our agency since Hurricane Katrina and we think any attempt to effectively communicate displacement offers will be either futile or render the displacement process too lengthy and complex to timely effect this layoff.

 

  1. Percentage of pay reductions due to acceptance of demotions in lieu of layoff will not be applicable in this layoff if our request to exclude displacement (bumping) offers is approved.

 

  1. We are not abolishing positions in this layoff; instead, we are laying off those employees who have not contacted our department since Hurricane Katrina, because we cannot afford to pay them.  (Note:  If such an employee contacts our agency before the effective date of the layoff, he or she will not be included in this layoff.) The parishes where these employees are domiciled are as follows:

 

List the parishes of domicile for these employees.

 

9.     See #8 above.  Below are listed those employees we propose to lay off and their respective job titles.  We ask for an exception to listing their career fields, because we are requesting that no displacement (bumping) offers be made, and that there be no immediate placement of these employees’ names on the department preferred reemployment list.  (See the exception request in # 12(d) below).  As affected employees contact our agency, we will deal case by case with Civil Service concerning their career fields for the department preferred reemployment list.

 

10.  We are not proposing the expansion of Career Field 9999 because of the information stated in #9 above.

 

11.  We are requesting no exemptions regarding the layoff of those persons who have not contacted our agency since Hurricane Katrina.

 

12.  We request the following exceptions to the regular layoff rules:

 

a)            Refer to the exception request in #5.

b)            Refer to the exception request in #6.

c)            Refer to the exception request in #9.

d)            I ask for an exception whereby our department would not immediately establish a department preferred reemployment list as a result of this layoff.  The affected employees’ availability and whereabouts are unknown; thus, the immediate establishment of a department preferred reemployment list would only procedurally delay making job offers to available persons.  We ask to be allowed to place employees on the department preferred reemployment list for a six-month period after the effective date of the layoff, as employees report in to us and make themselves available for work.

e)            I request an exception to Civil Service Rule 17.16 concerning a freeze on appointments to job titles abolished in the layoff or to equivalent or lower jobs in those career fields and commuting areas.  We are asking that only employees who have not contacted our agency since Hurricane Katrina be included in this layoff plan.  Because of this, we are requesting a delay in establishing a department preferred reemployment list.  Therefore, there is no reason for such a freeze on affected jobs.   

f)             We request an exception to listing all of our unclassified employees authorized under Civil Service Rules 4.1(d)1 and 4.1(d)2 since this has nothing to do with the reason for this layoff.

 

13.  Please see number 12(f) above asking for an exception to listing unclassified employees authorized under Civil Service Rules 4.1(d)1 and 4.1(d)2.

 

14.  We have no contracts either currently in effect or anticipated that may be causative or related to this layoff.

 

 

 

We would appreciate your review and approval of our plan so that we may proceed with conducting this layoff.  If you require additional information, please contact ______________ at (phone #) or at (e-mail address) at our agency.  Thank you.

 

                                                      Sincerely,

 

 

                                                      Signature of Appointing Authority