General Circular No. 001371

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Proposed Changes to Layoff and Related Rules

Issue Date: October 22, 1999

The State Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing on December 8, 1999 to consider the following rule proposals. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be held in the Department of State Civil Service Second Floor Hearing Room, DOTD Annex Building, 1201 Capitol Access Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We are organizing these proposals into two groups, for ease of understanding. The first group is comprised of the newly proposed Rule 17.14.2 and related rule amendments to it in Rules 5.6(c) and 6.15(f). The second group contains only proposed changes to Chapter 17. All of these will be considered at the meeting.

5.6  Status of Incumbent When Position is Reallocated.

      (c) If the duties which caused the reallocation are returned or removed, the
           incumbent shall be entitled to remain in the position. Subject to the provisions of
           Rule 17.14.2, if the position is declared a new position, the former position shall
           be deemed abolished and the incumbent shall be removed therefrom by layoff.

EXPLANATION

If a reallocation is requested and Civil Service determines that a new lower position should be established and the old higher position be abolished, the layoff that would result must follow the newly proposed simplified layoff procedure provided in Rule 17.14.2.

6.15  Red Circle Rates.

         . . .

        (a) - (e)…

             1 and 2…

        (g) and (h)…

EXPLANATION

This portion of the red circle rule references proposed Rule 17.14.2, which will provide for a simplified layoff process to occur when Civil Service has determined that a new lower position exists and the old incumbered position must be abolished.

17.14.2  Notification and Authority for a Layoff When a New Lower Position Has
              Been Established by Civil Service for an Incumbered Position.

             When the Department of Civil Service has determined that a new lower
             position exists and the old incumbered position must be abolished, the
             appointing authority shall notify the Director of the incumbent=s demotion in
             lieu of layoff to the new lower position by submission of the applicable
             Standard Form 1. The incumbent=s pay upon demotion in lieu of layoff shall
             not be reduced, in accordance with the provisions of Rule 17.19(a). The
             appointing authority shall advise a permanent employee(s) that he can apply
             for placement on the Department Preferred Reemployment List in accordance
             with Rule 17.24.

EXPLANATION

This rule will provide for a simplified layoff process to occur when Civil Service has determined that a new lower position exists and the old incumbered position must be abolished. This situation frequently occurs when a request for reallocation or update of a position, made either by the agency or the employee, results in Civil Service=s declaring the establishment of a new lower position rather than a reallocation downward. This rule will allow for the red circle rate rule to apply to the salary of the employee affected by the demotion in lieu of layoff and for application by the employee for placement on the Department Preferred Reemployment List.

17.16  Order of Displacement.

          The job offer shall be determined by Rule 17.17, and once determined,
          displacement within that job offer shall be to a position in the affected class(es),
          career field(s), organizational unit(s) and commuting area(s) in this order:

          Group A    a non-permanent classified employee

          Group B    a permanent part-time employee

          Group C    a permanent full-time employee

          (a) Within Groups B and C layoff actions shall be according to length of state
               service; subject to Rule 17.16.1, those with the least service shall be
               displaced/laid off first.

          (b) . . .

EXPLANATION

The rule has been reworded, including the use of Groups A through C, to clarify the order of displacement once a job offer has been determined according to Rule 17.17 and to aid in the discussion of displacement offers which occurs during the layoff process.

          …

          (a) A permanent employee affected by a layoff shall have the right to displace,
               subject to subsection (c) of this rule, permanent employees with less state
               service. Regardless of length of state service, a permanent employee, who
               meets the job qualifications, shall always have the right to displace a
               non-permanent classified employee or a permanent part-time employee in
               that order.

          (b) . . .

          (c) 1 - 5 . . .

               6.  Employees on non-permanent classified appointments (restricted
                    appointments, job appointments, provisional appointments, and
                    probational appointments) have no displacement rights; therefore, no
                    offers must be made to them if they are displaced from their positions, or
                    if their positions are abolished.

              7.  The first offer shall allow the employee to make a choice  of one of the
                   following, if available:

                   (a)  A position in the same job title and parish, or

                   (b)  A position in an equivalent job in the same career field and same
                         parish.

             8.  The second offer shall allow the employee to make a choice of one of the
                  following, if available:

                  (a) - (c) . . .

                  (d)  A position in the highest job outside the career field (as long as it is
                        higher than the offer in the career field) occupied by a probationary or
                        provisional employee and in the same parish and organizational unit.

             9.  Qualifications for and Responding to Job Offers:

                  (a)  If meeting the job qualifications requires a grade from Civil Service, the
                        person must have had the grade established at Civil Service at least
                        two weeks prior to the receipt of the layoff plan by the Director or he
                        is not 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 applicant producing the
                        original grade notice.

                  (b)  Subject to Rule 17.17.1(e), an employee=s declining an offer after
                        officially accepting a job offer in a layoff will not require the agency to
                        rework any job offer(s) already made. The agency may rework the
                        layoff job offer(s) or may offer the next position available at that point
                        in the layoff.

EXPLANATION

Revision of this rule aims to meet several needs:

1. Reduce the number of job offers by combining the former first and second offers into the first offer, by eliminating former Rule 17.17(c)9(b) and then combining former third and fourth offers into the second offer. Thus, now two job offers exist instead of four, a fact which should reduce the debate over what is a Abest offer."
   
2. Reduce the number of job offers outside the career field, except in the same parish in the commuting area. This was done by eliminating former Rule 17.17.(c)9(b).
   
3. If an employee must have a grade in order to accept a job offer in a layoff, the rule specifies the time frame during which that grade must have already been established prior to the layoff. Also, it eliminates suspension of layoff offers while waiting for an employee affected by the layoff to take a Civil Service test or establish a grade.
   
4. The rule specifies that an agency is not required to rework the layoff offers if an employee declines an official job offer after initially accepting it. However, if it so desires, an agency in such a situation may rework the layoff.

Rule 17.17.1  Responsibilities of Employees Affected In a Layoff.

                    (a) The employee shall read or otherwise make himself aware of agency-
                         distributed information concerning the layoff.

                    (b) The employee shall supply all information required by the agency to
                         determine his adjusted state service date in the format required by the
                         agency and by deadlines set by the agency, in compliance with Civil
                         Service Rules.

                    (c) If an employee is absent from work, he shall leave with the personnel
                         specified by his agency, correct and current written information as
                         required by the agency on how he may be reached during all times
                         when his agency will be making job offers during the layoff.

                    (d) The employee shall comply with the deadline for responding to a job
                         offer in a layoff in a manner which has been determined by his agency
                         in accordance with Civil Service Rules. Failure to do so in the proper
                         manner and by the deadline shall be considered a declination of the
                         job offer by the employee.

                    (e) Once an employee gives his acceptance or declination of a job offer in
                          a layoff, his decision is final.

EXPLANATION

To aid employers and to clarify that employees do have responsibilities to perform during a layoff, this new rule is being proposed. In particular, the duties of an employee who is absent from work during job offers in a layoff are specified as well the deadline for responding to job offers.

          Rule 17.16(b) shall be used, if applicable, in breaking ties among employees
          who have the same length of state service. In case of a tie, if Rule 17.16(b) is
          not applicable, an employee whose most recent Performance Planning and
          Review rating or re-rating was APoor@ shall be laid off/displaced. Below are
          listed other methods by which ties may be broken if neither of the first two
          methods are applicable. The method or methods of breaking ties must be
          applied uniformly. Subject to Rule 17.21, the remaining methods of breaking ties
          may be:

          (a) by length of service in the position, or

          (b) by length of service in the department, or

          (c) based on the most recent overall official ratings or re-ratings above APoor@
               earned by the tied employees.

          (d) Repeal

EXPLANATION

This rule seeks to further incorporate the use of efficiency ratings of employees in the process of tie breaking. The increased use of the ratings will be phased in over a two-year period. These proposed revisions and new rules constitute Phase I which will become effective if the Commission approves these rules in the winter of 1999; Phase II will become effective one year later in the winter of 2000 and Phase III will become effective in the winter of 2001, two years from the 1999 approval date for Phase I.

Rule 17.23.1  Layoff-Related Appointments.

                     (a)  . . .

EXPLANATION

This rule changes the statewide freeze on certain types of employment during the layoff process to be a freeze on such appointments only in the applicable commuting areas in the affected organizational unit or department.

17.24  Department Preferred Reemployment Lists.

          . . .

          (a - g) . . .

          (h) The maximum period during which a former or otherwise affected
               employee=s name may remain on a department preferred reemployment
               list(s) shall be two years from the effective date of the applicable layoff(s).
               The Director shall remove the employee=s name from all such lists at the
               expiration of that period if it has not been previously removed.

EXPLANATION

This rule reduces the duration of time that an affected employee=s name can remain on such list from three years to two years.

17.25.1  Open Preferred Reemployment Lists.

             The Director shall establish open preferred reemployment lists, consisting of
             former permanent employees separated from state service as the result of a
             layoff action, and shall determine the eligibility criteria for such lists. Except as
             provided in Rule 17.16.1(f), eligibility for the open preferred reemployment list
             does not extend to an employee whose most recent official overall
             Performance Planning and Review rating or re-rating was APoor@ when he
             was laid off. The maximum period during which a former or otherwise affected
             employee=s name may remain on an open preferred re-employment list(s)
             shall be one year from the effective date of the applicable layoff(s). The
             Director shall remove the employee=s name from such lists at the expiration of
             the period if it has not been previously removed.

EXPLANATION

This rule change does not permit an employee whose most recent official overall Performance Planning and Review rating or re-rating was APoor@ when he was laid off to apply for or be placed on the Open Preferred Reemployment List. It also codifies that the Director shall remove an employee=s name from such lists at the expiration of the one-year period if it has not been previously removed.

17.25.2  Noncompetitive Reemployment from an Open Preferred Reemployment List.

             When an appointing authority determines that it is necessary to fill a position
              through probational appointment, noncompetitive reemployment of a former
              employee other than one laid off from and having department preferred
              reemployment rights in that department, or job appointment in excess of three
              months, before hiring a person from outside state classified service, he first
              must hire available eligibles on the open preferred reemployment list. An
              agency is not required to select a person from an open preferred
              reemployment list if the agency can show that the person has exhausted his
              eligibility for unemployment compensation. Exceptions to this Rule can be
              made with the approval of the Director.

EXPLANATION

This rule allows further flexibility to agencies when filling positions when an Open Preferred Reemployment List exists by not requiring consideration of employees on the list for whom eligibility for unemployment compensation has been exhausted. The agency is required to be able to show proof of this fact when not considering a name for this reason.

Persons interested in making comments relative to these proposals may do so at the public hearing or by writing to the Director of State Civil Service at Post Office Box 94111, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9111.

If any accommodations are needed, please notify us prior to this meeting.

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Director