III. J. Reduction in Force
In the exercise of its management and fiscal responsibilities. The State Board may be required to reduce the number, hours or pay of employees through a reduction in force.
A reduction in force will not be used to circumvent the State Board's policies on dismissal or demotion or the rules of the State Personnel Board applicable to classified employees.
Absent extraordinary circumstances, no employee will be laid off or demoted by a reduction in force except in accordance with a plan previously approved by the State Board.
Employees who are eligible for statutory "involuntary separation" rights may not be terminated except as provided in O.C.G.A. §20-4-35.
The order in which employees are terminated in order to achieve the reduction in force shall be determined by calculating a combination of employee performance ratings and seniority in accordance with this policy and its procedures.
The State Board shall prescribe a uniform method for the Technical Colleges to determine retention credits.
Definitions
Reduction in Force. Except as indicated above, a reduction in force is the Department-wide lay off or demotion of one or more employees as the result of a shortage of work or funds, a change in organization, or otherwise. The routine closing of an individual program as approved by the State Board because of low enrollment, low placement rates, low cost effectiveness or in order to achieve other cost efficiencies within a single Technical College, and which may cause the reduction in the number of employees at a particular Technical College shall not invoke this reduction in force policy.
Competitive Area. The competitive area is the part of the organization to which the reduction in force is to apply. It shall be defined by the Commissioner. Usually, in the case of a Technical College, the competitive area is the entire Technical College, but a more limited organizational or geographic unit of the Technical College may be approved if the staff in the limited area is clearly distinguishable from that in other areas and interchange of employees is impractical.
Competitive Groups. A competitive group is the class, function or program within the Competitive Area, consisting of one or more employees, to which the reduction in force action is to apply, as defined by the President and approved by the Commissioner. All individuals within a Competitive Group will be reviewed as part of the reduction in force process, regardless of whether they are in the classified or unclassified service, tenured or non-tenured. In the event one or more employees in a designated competitive group is in the classified service, retention point credit for the entire competitive group shall be calculated in accordance with the Rules of the State Personnel Board.
Retention Credits. These are the values assigned to various performance criteria and seniority that are used in determining which employees shall be retained following a reduction in force.
Reduction in Force Plans for Technical Colleges
The President of each state Technical College shall define the competitive group to which the reduction in force is to be applied and devise a plan for their respective Technical College. These plans shall be submitted in the approved format to the Commissioner for review and upon recommendation to the Board for final approval.
The plan shall contain:
1) a brief statement of the circumstances requiring the reduction in force and the proposed effective date;
2) a definition of the Competitive Area to be affected;
3) the cutoff date after which performance appraisals will not be considered in calculating the Retention Credits;
4) a list of the Competitive Group(s) to be affected; and
5) a list of employees in each affected Competitive Group in order of retention credits.If it is necessary to achieve a reduction in force at more than one Technical College, then a separate reduction in force plan must be prepared and approved for each institution affected. An individual displaced by a reduction in force in one Technical College shall have no vested rights for employment or priority consideration outside the Technical College from which she or he is displaced.
A copy of the approved reduction in force plan will be made available for inspection by any employee or former employee.
Each employee laid off or demoted as a result of the reduction in force plan will be notified in writing at the earliest possible date prior to the effective date of the action.
When the reduction in force has been completed, each President shall certify to the Commissioner that such was accomplished in accordance with the plan approved by the State Board of Technical and Adult Education.
Any employee of a Technical College who believes the approved plan for the Technical College was not followed in his or her case may file a complaint in accordance with the Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure.
Reduction in Force Plans for the Central OfficeIn developing a Reduction in Force plan for the Central Office, the Commissioner shall first eliminate those positions that can be discontinued with the least adverse affects upon the mission of the agency.
The Commissioner shall determine which Competitive Area(s) and Group(s) shall be affected by the Reduction in Force.
The Commissioner shall identify those classified employees in the selected Competitive Groups and accord all employees, of whatever status, in those groups with Retention Credits in accordance with the applicable rules of the State Personnel Board for classified employees.
References
Exhibit 1 - Reduction in Force Plan
Exhibit 2 - Competitive Group
Exhibit 3 - Method of Determining Retention Credits procedure
Adopted: September 1991
Revised: January 1994; August 29, 2001
Approved