2.72.230 Reduction in force | Bakersfield Municipal Code

2.72.230 Reduction in force.

A. Purpose. For reasons of economy or due to a lack of work or funds, the department head, at the direction of the city manager, or designee, may reorganize or eliminate any department or division, or may abolish any position and/or reduce the number of, or the hours worked by, city employees. When any such action causes a displacement of employees, the selection of those to be displaced shall be made under the following:

1. To decrease the work force in any department, the department head, at the direction of the city manager, or designee, may specify the number and/or class of employees to be displaced, together with the department and division in which the displacement is to be made.

2. The department head shall then notify the personnel division, in writing, of the classes and numbers of employees to be displaced.

3. Upon receipt of such notice, the personnel division shall give the department head a certified seniority list of department employees for the classes affected within that department.

4. The department head shall then determine, under these rules, the particular employees to be displaced, and advise the city manager of his/her decision.

1. “Class” means a group of positions which are sufficiently alike in general duties and responsibilities to warrant the use of the same title, class (job) specification, and salary range, and the application of common standards of selection, transfer and promotion.

2. “Department displacement re-employment list” means a list containing names of qualified full-time employees by total city seniority displaced from a position within a department. Placement on such list grants specific rights to displaced employees for return to a similar position within the class and department, should vacancies occur after such displacement within the specified period of time.

3. “Displace” means an action caused by a reduction of authorized, budgeted positions within a department wherein an employee is demoted or laid-off from the work force. The term “displacement” shall include removal from city employment, reassignment to a former or other class pursuant to these rules, and reduction from full-time to part-time status.

4. “City displacement re-employment list” means qualified full-time employees who are displaced may have their names placed on this list in order of total city seniority for the classes in which they previously held full-time status. This list will be used to fill vacant positions after exhausting the department displacement re-employment list and prior to the use of other employment lists.

5. “Non-qualified full-time employee” means an employee with civil service status whose overall performance evaluation rating is below a satisfactory rating for the last two annual rating periods.

6. “Recalled employee” means an employee who returns to city service from a re-employment list.

7. “Qualified full-time employee” means an employee with civil service status whose last two annual performance evaluations was Satisfactory or higher. A qualified full-time employee who has been promoted or transferred and whose status is probationary or out-of-class shall, for the purpose of these displacement rules, be defined as a full-time employee of the department in which the currently-held position is allocated.

8. “Seniority” means the length of total continuous, unbroken time worked for the city in a regular budgeted full-time position, regardless of a particular class or department. Continuous, unbroken time worked includes time during which the employee was absent with pay or was on approved long-term military leave. Approved leaves of absence without pay maintain the continuity of employment, but the duration of the leave is deducted from the total continuous time period. An employee who was in a full-time position and was displaced to a part-time position shall have the prior full-time service counted, as long as the employee is currently in a full-time position and there was not a break in continuous service.

C. Order of Displacements. Displacements in each class shall be made in the following order: first, temporary or part-time employees; second, probationary employees; third, full-time non-qualified employees; and fourth, qualified full-time employees.

1. Seasonal employees may be hired to handle specific job functions that occur on a reasonable basis. Said positions do not have to be taken into consideration when determining displacement order. Seasonal employees shall not replace full-time positions; however, displaced employees shall be offered first opportunity for seasonal employment.

2. When one or more probationary or full-time employees must be displaced within a department, those who are displaced shall be the employees with the least city seniority in the class affected.

3. Where the displacement is limited to temporary or part-time employees, the department head, at the direction of the city manager or designee may determine which of the employees within the particular class shall be displaced.

4. In the event two or more full-time employees have the same seniority, the person to be displaced shall be determined by lot.

5. Qualified full-time employees so affected by the displacement procedures shall be re-hired in inverse order of total city seniority (last out, first in).

1. Seniority in displacements shall be calculated as set forth in subsection B.8.

2. A qualified full-time employee who receives a notice of displacement may displace a less senior employee in a lower class within the department, provided that the employee held the position within the lower class in the department, or the lower class is in the employees immediate job family as determined by the human resources manager. Where the lower class requires supervisory experience, the more senior employee must have supervisory experience prior to displacement to the lower level, or must have held such position in order to displace the less senior supervisory employee.

3. The salary range of an employee displaced to a lower level shall be the salary range of that lower level.

4. The employee will be placed at the step level of the lower class that is closest to their current salary without providing a raise.

5. Any employee displaced to a lower class shall not be required to serve a probationary period.

E. Notice of Displacement. Notice of any displacement, under these rules, shall be made by giving a letter to the employees to be displaced a minimum of three days prior to the effective date of the displacement. The letter shall inform the employees of the appointing authority’s decision to reduce the work force. If any employee affected by the displacement cannot be located within twenty-four (24) hours after the effective date of displacement, the letter containing the displacement notice shall be mailed via certified mail, return receipt requested, to that employees last known address as shown on the employees records on file in the Personnel Office. Municipal code Section 2.84.310 shall apply as to severance pay.

F. Placement of Names on Re-employment Lists. On the date displacements become effective, the city manager shall order the names of displaced full-time and/or initial probationary employees to be placed on the re-employment lists established for all classes from which they were displaced.

G. Reversion to Former Status. When a reduction in the work force results in the displacement of an employee who had acquired full-time status in a former class, the employee shall, dependent upon his/her seniority, be reinstated to that former class. If the employees seniority is not sufficient to displace any employee in his/her former class, he/she shall be placed on the re-employment list for that class in addition to his/her current class. However, the employee must have continuous service with the city and may not have been removed from his/her former class for cause.

H. Use of Re-employment Lists. If, after a displacement occurs within a department, a position subsequently becomes available, the following method of filling the vacant position shall be used:

1. The department head shall notify the manager of human resources of the vacant position to be filled. The manager of human resources shall certify the most senior individual eligible for re-employment to the position from the department displacement re-employment list and notify the eligible individual to contact the department head to arrange the date for filling the position.

2. If the department displacement re-employment list is exhausted, the manager of human resources shall certify the three most senior eligible individuals from the city displacement re-employment list and shall notify those individuals to contact the department head for a job interview.

I. Rights of Employees Recalled from Displacements. An employee recalled from a city or department displacement re-employment list shall return to the same salary step held prior to displacement. The employee shall assume the same vacation accrual rate, vacation accrual date and increment seniority date (minus displacement period) as previously enjoyed in the class. All sick leave credits of record at the time of displacement shall be re-credited to the employee upon return to a full-time position within the class formerly held.

1. Recalled full-time status employees from the department displacement re-employment list shall not be required to serve a probationary period; unless the employee was displaced during a probationary period, whereupon the remaining probationary time shall be served when recalled.

2. Employees recalled from the city displacement re-employment list shall be required to serve a probationary period.

3. If an employee fails probation as in number 2 above, he or she shall be removed from the city’s displacement list but shall be retained on the department displacement re-employment list.

J. Priority and Duration of Re-employment Lists. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the department displacement re-employment list and the city displacement re-employment list shall have precedence over all other employment lists.

1. Displaced employees, in continuous service within the city, shall have the right to return to their former positions. However, they shall be required to maintain all job-required training, certification and licenses.

2. The duration of affected employees rights to return to work through the department displacement re-employment list and the city displacement re-employment list shall be three years from the date of placement on such lists.

3. If an employee desires re-instatement, he or she shall be required annually to notify, in writing, the manager of human resources of his or her intention. Prior to re-employment, said employee shall be required to demonstrate that he or she has maintained the required level of expertise or skills by passing any required entrance examinations, including, but not limited to, written, medical, agility or psychological testing as required by the department head.

4. Also, it shall be incumbent upon all displaced employees to maintain all job-required training certification and licenses.

5. Individual names shall be removed from the department displacement re-employment list and the city displacement re-employment list for any of the following reasons:

a. Failure to accept employment or report to work, within fourteen working days after receipt of notice certifying eligibility for re-employment, in a similar position in the same class within the department from which the employee was displaced;

b. Failure to notify the manager of human resources of any change in their address or telephone number within seven days of change;

c. Failure to provide the manager of human resources with annual notification of intent to stay on the list;

d. Failure to appear for a job interview after notification;

e. Failure to respond, for any reason, within seven working days after posting by certified mail, return receipt requested, of a notice to the employee certifying eligibility for re-employment;

f. Request in writing by the employee to be removed from the lists;

g. Failure to accept employment or report to work for a position within a class listed by the employee on the city displacement re-employment form shall remove the employee’s name from the city displacement re-employment lists.

K. Appeal Procedure. Any displaced probationary or full-time employee may object to his or her displacement on grounds that the seniority calculation was incorrect or that the displacement action was the result of an improper or illegal employment practice. The employee may do so by filing an appeal within three days after being either personally served with a notice of displacement by the department head, or after receiving a certified or first-class letter informing him or her of the pending displacement.

1. The city manager or designee shall determine the method of review and may conduct his or her own investigation, call witnesses, review documents, and/or proceed in the same manner it would for a hearing under these rules. After either a review or hearing, the city manager or designee shall make a final determination.

2. If the employee who is displaced fails to make a timely appeal to his or her displacement, the displacement shall be effective as of the date specified in the notice of displacement. However, the city manager may correct an error in seniority calculations at any time and may make appropriate adjustments in an order of displacement or a priority list ranking due to the correction. (Ord. 4282 § 1, 2005; Ord. 4124 § 1, 2003; Ord. 3684 § 1, 1995; prior code § 3.14.220)