STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
General Circular No. 001631
To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors
Subject: Instructions and Sample Documents Needed to Effectively Complete the Layoff of Displaced Employees Whose Whereabouts Remain UNKNOWN
Issue Date: October 19, 2005
A series of new and updated documents are attached for your convenience in implementing the process required to complete the layoff of any employee who has been displaced by Hurricane Katrina and fails to contact you by the effective date of the layoff.
These documents replace any that were distributed with General Circulars 1625 and 1627 so those may be disregarded. These revisions were made based on your recommendations and they significantly simplify this process. This circular contains all forms and notices you will need until the time that you submit your post layoff report. We are also placing Word and Excel copies of these documents on the secure HR Director’s Website for your use. Information relevant to the post layoff report is referenced in the last item of the Procedural Guidelines.
1. Procedural Guidelines. This is a checklist of necessary notifications, actions and timelines needed to complete the layoff process for this group of employees.
2. General Notice of Impending Layoffs. This is a template of the general notice required under Civil Service Rule 10.10(a)1.
3. Layoff Plan for Employees Who Have NOT Contacted Their Agency Since Hurricane Katrina. This is a template of the layoff plan we recommend you use to effect these layoffs. On November 2, 2005 we will request that the Civil Service Commission grant pre-approval to the exceptions stated in this plan. Any change to these exceptions or additional exceptions will require that your plan go to the Commission for approval.
4. Personnel Action Fiscal Impact Statement This document must be submitted to the Division of Administration, Office of Planning and Budget to the attention of your agency OPB Analyst, along with a copy of your layoff plan UNLESS you are a quasi-state entity AND your budget process is completely independent of the Division of Administration. Any questions you may have regarding this form or the information needed to complete it should be directed to the Office of Planning and Budget.
5. Sample Individual Notice of Layoff to Employee Whose Whereabouts are Unknown Since Hurricane Katrina. This document fulfills the notice requirements of Civil Service Rules 17.10(a) 3 and 4. Complete all pertinent contact information and attach a copy of the proposed layoff plan and Civil Service Rule 17.13.
6. Copy of Civil Service Rule 17.13. This should be attached to the individual notice of layoff to each employee, along with a copy of the proposed layoff plan.
In the very near future, we will send a similar checklist to aid you in implementing necessary layoffs of employees whose whereabouts are known, but for whom you have no funding and/or no work.
Questions relative to the Fiscal Impact Statements should be addressed to your Office of Planning and Budget Analyst at the Division of Administration. For questions concerning benefits implications, please contact the Office of Group Benefits, LASERS or other retirement system, or other benefit providers.
We encourage you to contact your Civil Service Assistance Coordinator at (225) 342-8274, if we can help you in any way, particularly with any questions you may have regarding the layoff process.
Sincerely,
s/Anne S. Soileau
Acting Director
Layoffs of Employees
Displaced by Hurricane Katrina Who Have
NOT CONTACTED Their Agency by the Effective Date of the Layoff
PROCEDURAL
GUIDELINES
NOTE: The sample General Notice and Layoff
Plan previously issued with General Circulars 1625 and 1627 have been revised at
your suggestion to improve clarity and simplify this process as much as
possible. Please disregard previous
samples. Revised versions are attached.
NOTE: The Division of Administration must be
notified of upcoming layoffs as indicated in Step 3 unless you are a
quasi-state entity and your budget process is completely independent of
the Division of Administration.
DATE COMPLETED: ______________________
Any questions concerning the Fiscal Impact Statement
should be directed to
your agency’s OPB Analyst.
Once approved by DOA, notify your Civil Service Assistance Coordinator.
DATE SENT TO DOA: _______________________
DATE CIVIL SERVICE NOTIFIED OF DOA APPROVAL:________________
4. Post the proposed layoff plan on your website. (Optional)
DATE PROPOSED PLAN WAS POSTED: _______________________
5. Mail the proposed layoff plan signed by
your appointing authority to the affected employees, along with the INDIVIDUAL NOTICE
OF LAYOFF letter, in compliance with Civil Service Rule 17.10(a)3 and 4. (Sample
letter is attached) We
recommend that the proposed effective date of layoff be no sooner than 28
CALENDAR DAYS AFTER the date these letters are mailed.
DATE LETTERS WERE MAILED: __________
6. Deliver the
layoff plan to Civil Service.
You may
deliver the plan to CS before or after you actually mail the letters referenced
in Step #5. However, to ensure the most
expeditious review and approval, CS should receive the layoff plan at the same
time your plan is submitted to the Division of Administration. Include a cover memo or letter that
indicates the date that the last individual employee notice letter was
mailed.
DATE DELIVERED TO CS ______________.
7. CS will review the layoff plan. The earliest that the rules allow
CS to approve the plan is 5 calendar days after the date the last Step 5 notice
mailing. However, in these layoffs of
employees whose whereabouts are unknown, we plan to allow 28 calendar days
after the date the last Step 5 letter was mailed to ensure adequate time for
delivery and response. If there are
extenuating circumstances of some sort, discuss these with your Assistance
Coordinator in advance.
CS will notify you of plan
approval.
DATE OF CS APPROVAL OF THE PLAN _______________
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE LAYOFF __________________
8. Submit post-layoff report to Civil Service no later than 15 days after the effective date of the layoff. (See Section 3 of Chapter 17, beginning with Rule 17.24, and the online HR Handbook, Layoff section.)
The Division of Administration has requested that you also submit a copy of the post lay-off report and an updated Personnel Action Fiscal Impact Statement to your OPB Analyst.
General Notice of Impending Layoffs
To: Employees who have not contacted their agency since Hurricane Katrina
From: ____________________________, __________________________
Appointing Authority State Agency
Subject:
Layoffs for employees who have not contacted this agency since Hurricane
Katrina
Date: ___________________________
In
accordance with the requirements of Civil Service Rule 17.10(a)1, notice is
hereby given of impending layoffs to be implemented by our department for those
employees who have not contacted our agency since Hurricane Katrina. It seems reasonable to assume that such
employees may never report back to work.
A written plan to implement this layoff will be submitted to the
Department of State Civil Service for its approval.
Subject to Civil Service approval, our agency will implement this layoff on ______(date)________. Any employee who has not contacted our agency prior to this date will be laid off at the beginning of business that day.
We will mail a copy of the layoff plan to the last known address for each affected employee allowing no less than 28 calendar days for employees to receive and respond to the plan.
Any questions concerning this matter should be directed to person’s name and phone number and/or e-mail address at our agency. We sincerely regret the need for this action.
Civil
Service Rule 17.13 states:
The following shall be responsibilities of any employee affected in a layoff. This includes employees who are on leave, on detail to special duty, and on temporary interdepartmental assignment.
(a)
He shall read or otherwise make himself aware of agency-distributed information
concerning the layoff.
(b) He shall supply all information required by the agency to determine adjusted state service date in the format and by the deadline set by the agency.
(c) If he is absent from work, he shall leave with the personnel specified in his agency, correct and current information as required by the agency on how he may be reached at all times when his agency will be making job offers during the layoff.
(d) He shall comply with the deadline for responding to a job offer in a manner determined by the agency. Failure to do so in the proper manner and by the deadline shall be considered a declination of the job offer.
(e) If meeting the job qualifications of the offered job requires a grade from Civil Service, he must have had the grade effective no later than the date the layoff plan is submitted to Civil Service to be eligible for that position. The grade need not be active; it may be expired. However, it must have the same series number as the test currently in use and must be verifiable, either in the automated applicant record at Civil Service or by the employee producing the original grade notice.
(f) Once he gives his acceptance or declination of a job offer, his decision is final and the agency is not required to re-work any job offers already made.
Layoff Plan for Employees Who Have NOT Contacted Their
Agency Since Hurricane Katrina
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 accordance with Civil Service Rule 17.15.
List the parishes of domicile for these employees’ positions.
9.
The names and
respective job titles of those employees we propose to lay off are listed
below. We ask for an exception to
listing their career fields, because we are requesting that no displacement
(bumping) offers be made.
List employee
names and job titles
10.
We request an
exception to placing any of these employees’ names on the department preferred
reemployment list since their whereabouts remain unknown.
If
affected employees contact our agency within six months after the effective
date
of the layoff and make themselves available for work, we ask to be allowed
to
place them on the department preferred reemployment list at that time. We will
deal
case by case with Civil Service concerning their career fields for the
department
preferred reemployment list.
11.
We are not proposing
the expansion of Career Field 9999. (Please refer to item 9).
12.
We are requesting no
exemptions.
13.
We request the
following exceptions to the regular layoff rules:
a) Refer to the exception requests in items #5, 6, 9, and 10.
b)
We 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.
Since only employees who have not contacted our agency since Hurricane
Katrina are included in this layoff plan and we are requesting an exception
to establishing a department preferred reemployment
list, there is no reason for such a freeze on affected jobs.
c)
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.
14. Please see number 13(c) above asking for an exception to listing unclassified employees authorized under Civil Service Rules 4.1(d)1 and 4.1(d)2.
15. 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
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Personnel Action Fiscal Impact
Statement |
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Dept: |
Existing |
Year-to-date |
Total Projected |
Total Projected |
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Agency:(Name/number) |
Operating |
Revenue |
Revenue and |
Revenue and |
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Program:
(Name) |
Budget |
And |
Expenditures |
Expenditures |
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Contact:
(Name) |
As of |
Expenditures |
Without |
With |
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#: (Phone
# of contact) |
__ / __ / __ |
__ / __ / __ |
Approved Plan |
Approved Plan |
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(2) |
(3) * |
(4) |
(5) |
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MEANS
OF FINANCING: |
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STATE
GENERAL FUND (Direct) |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Interagency Transfers |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Fees & Self-gen. Revenues |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Statutory Dedications |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Interim Emergency Board |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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FEDERAL
FUNDS |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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TOTAL MEANS OF FINANCING |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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EXPENDITURES: |
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Salaries |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Other Compensation |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Related Benefits |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Travel |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Operating Services |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Supplies |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Professional Services |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Other Charges |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Debt Services |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Interagency Transfers |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Acquisitions |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Major Repairs |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Unallotted |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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TOTAL EXPENDITURES AND REQUEST |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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Financing
Over/(Under) Expenditures |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
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* See instructions |
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Attach
explanatory information as indicated in the instructions |
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Read the
instructions - Attach additional sheets if necessary to fully justify your
request. |
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The
documentation to be provided includes, but is not limited to: What is the rationale for this plan? What is the reason for the |
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contemplated
action? What projection methodology
was used? How were revenues and
expenditures calculated? Has the |
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agency
received "SEED" funding from the state treasury? What are the savings or cost avoidance amounts
realized by the plan? |
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Will this
plan produce actual cash savings or does it produce budgetary savings (where
the budget is reduced to actual cost |
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savings)? What is the future impact of the requested
plan? |
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How does
the position meet or serve the role, scope and/or mission of the
program/agency? How will approving or
not approving |
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the requested
plan affect performance (both specific performance indicators and overall
performance) of the program? Is there
a |
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future
impact on performance? |
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Sample Individual Notice of Layoff to Employee
Whose Whereabouts are Unknown Since Hurricane Katrina - Rule 17.10(a)3
and(a)4
TO: Employee's Name
FROM: Appointing authority or his/her designee
DATE: _________________________
SUBJECT: Employee’s Notification of Right to Comment
on Proposed Layoff
Hurricane
Katrina has created a situation in which we can no longer afford to pay
employees who have not contacted our agency since the hurricane and whose
whereabouts are unknown to us.
Therefore, in accordance with Civil Service Rule 17.15, the Department
of ___________________ has prepared a plan to implement a layoff of all
employees who have not contacted our agency since Hurricane Katrina. Our records indicate that you are such an
employee.
It is with
regret that we inform you that you are laid off effective the beginning of
business on [enter effective date of layoff here (Note: this date should not be less than 28
days after this notice is mailed to the last “missing” employee)] unless you receive further notice to
the contrary.
If you receive
this notice and contact our agency before the effective date of the
layoff, you will not be included in this layoff. (Give agency contact
information - a name, address, e-mail
address and phone number employees may use to contact you).
We are attaching a
copy of the layoff plan that we have submitted to the Department of State Civil
Service. Any comments you may have
regarding the layoff may be made in writing to (name of appointing authority
or his designee, perhaps the Human Resources Director) at address. You may also address your comments to Ms.
Anne Soileau, Acting Director of the Department of State Civil Service, at P.O.
Box 94111, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9111.
Please be advised
that receipt of your comments regarding the layoff plan is not the same thing
as notifying us of your whereabouts.
Failure to contact our agency directly will automatically result in
layoff.
Civil Service Rule
17.13 advises employees of their responsibilities in a layoff. A copy of this rule is attached for your
information.
As part of our
layoff plan, we requested an exception to placing the names of employees whose
whereabouts remain unknown on the Civil Service Department Preferred
Reemployment List. If you return and
make yourself available for work within six months after the date of the
layoff, you will be placed on the Department Preferred List and the Civil
Service Referral List at that time. If
you become available for work within six months after the effective date of the
layoff, contact (insert name and phone number) in
your Human Resources Office to have your name placed these lists.
Upon layoff, you
are eligible to be paid for any annual leave you may have earned up to 300
hours. Your annual leave above 300
hours, as well as your accumulated sick leave balance, will be restored to you
in the event you return to work in the state classified service in permanent or
probational status within five years following the layoff date.
Any questions you
may have regarding the disposition of your retirement contributions should be
directed to the Human Resources Office.
Items currently deducted from your check through payroll deductions,
such as insurance, savings bonds, credit union, etc., will be affected by this
action. Therefore, you will need to contact the Human Resources Office to
obtain the necessary information and documents to maintain or discontinue these
benefits. If you wish to apply for
Unemployment Insurance benefits please contact the Human Resources Office for
assistance.
These layoff a