BASIC CONCEPTS OF REDUCTION IN FORCE

1
COST SAVINGS INITIATIVES AND BASIC CONCEPTSOF
REDUCTION IN FORCE
Sam Wilkins Office of Human Resources Director
2
Cost Savings ApproachesAvailable to Agencies

• Recruitment
• Hire temporary employees
• Hiring freeze
• Retrain/Reassign employees to other areas
• Furloughs
• Separation Programs
• Voluntary Separation Program
• Retirement Incentive Program
• Reduction In Force
• Terminate Employees not Covered by Grievance Act

• Restricted Activity
• Travel
• Overtime
• Tuition Assistance
• Flexible Work Options
• Job Sharing
• Teleworking

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
3
Furlough

• Voluntary Furlough (Proviso 89.113) Employees
  may furlough for up to 90 days
• Mandatory Furlough (Proviso 89.120) State
  agencies, universities and colleges may institute
  mandatory furlough programs of up to 10 days for
  all employees in the agency, a department or
  program.
• Higher Education Mandatory Furlough (Proviso
  6.31)
• Universities and Colleges may institute
  mandatory furlough programs of up to 20 days
  agency-wide (Higher Education agencies may not
  exceed 20 days between the provisions of Provisos
  89.120 and 6.31)
• Reduction in Force/Agency Head Furlough (Proviso
  89.122)
• In the event of a reduction in force, the agency
  head must furlough for 5 days (Constitutional
  Officers would be exempt from this provision)
• Constitutional Officer Agency Head Voluntary
  Furlough (Proviso 89.64)
• Constitutional officers and agency heads may
  voluntarily furlough for up to 36 days
• NOTE Furloughed employees could be eligible for
  unemployment compensation.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
4
Separation Programs

• Voluntary Separation Program
• To realign resources and permanently downsize
  based on ability to demonstrate recurring cost
  savings.

• Retirement Incentive Program
• To purchase service credit on behalf of employees
  who are close or currently eligible to retire and
  demonstrate recurring cost savings.

These programs must be approved by the Agency
Head and OHR.
S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
5
Employees not Covered by the Grievance Act

• State Agencies may terminate the following
  employees not covered by the State Employee
  Grievance Act
• Temporary
• Time-Limited Project
• Temporary Grant
• Probationary
• Employee who entered the TERI program after
  6/6/05
• Retirees in FTE positions
• State agencies should be aware that
• These employees would have no administrative
  remedy, but may have a judicial remedy.
• Terminating only TERI participants or Retirees
  could lead to claims of age discrimination.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
6
Four Reasons for Reduction-in-Force (RIF)

• Budget Reduction
• State Funds
• Federal Funds
• Other Funds
• (Note The elimination of employees is not based
  on the funding of their positions)
• Reorganization
• Work Shortage
• Outsourcing/ Privatization

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
7
Employee RIF Rights

• Employees with RIF Rights
• In full time equivalent (FTE) positions having
  completed a 12 month probationary period.
• Employees without RIF rights
• In temporary, temporary grant, or time-limited
  positions
• Retirees Rehired
• TERI participants after June 6, 2005
• Employees who have not completed a 12 month
  probationary period
• Any other employees exempt from State Employee
  Grievance Procedure Act

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
8
RIF Policy versus RIF Plan

• RIF Policy the document created to outline the
  components of a RIF and the manner in which it is
  implemented
• RIF Plan the document that outlines how a
  specific RIF will be implemented in accordance
  with an agencys RIF Policy

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
9
RIF Policy

• Each agency develops its own policy which
  outlines the general components an agency will
  use to develop and implement a RIF plan.
• An agency has several options in tailoring its
  RIF policy to meet its needs.
• The Budget and Control Boards Office of Human
  Resources (OHR) approves the RIF policy and the
  agency disseminates it to agency employees before
  it becomes effective.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
10
RIF Plan

• An agency develops a specific plan to implement a
  RIF.
• The RIF plan must be in compliance with its RIF
  policy.
• The Budget and Control Board reviews and approves
  the RIF plan for procedural correctness prior to
  agency implementing.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
11
Competitive Area

• The competitive area is the part of the agency in
  which the RIF will occur.
• The agency determines the competitive area.
• It is defined in one of the following three ways
• Agency Wide
• Division, Department, or Unit
• Geographic Region
• The competitive area should be an area that is
  clearly distinguishable from other areas of the
  agency.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
12
Competitive Area Example Division
Agency Director
Div. of Audit
Services
Director
Procurement
Auditor III
Auditor III
Mgr. II
Proc. Spec.
Auditor II
Auditor II
I
Admin.
Auditor
Spec. II
I
Auditor
I
Auditor
I
Area circled denotes competitive area.
S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
13
Competitive Group / State Class Titles

• The agency defines the competitive group.
• The competitive group is the area of competition
  in the RIF in the following three areas
• One State Class Title
• Example Administrative Specialist II
• State Class Title Series
• Example Auditor I, Auditor II, Auditor III,
  Auditor IV, Audits Manager I, Audits Manager II
• Agency Normal Career Path of State Class Titles
• Example Administrative Assistant, Program
  Coordinator II, Program Manager I

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
14
Competitive Group / State Class Titles

• The agency identifies how many positions within
  the Competitive Group/State Class Titles are to
  be eliminated.
• Up to this point, the agency is focusing on
  positions only and not employees.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
15
Competitive Group Example Class Title Series
Agency Director
Div. of Audit
Services
Director
Auditor III
Auditor III
Auditor II
Auditor II
Auditor
I
Auditor
I
Auditor
The boxes in gray denote the competitive group.
I
S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
16
Retention Points

• Retention points determine which employees are
  affected by the RIF.
• Retention point values are defined in an agencys
  policy based on a combination of the following
  components
• Continuous State Service
• Past two performance appraisal ratings
• Note An agency has flexibility in assigning
  more weight to performance or service in its
  policy.
• An agency may choose in its RIF policy to award
  additional points for bumping into a lower banded
  class title.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
17
Bumping Rights

• Bumping rights are provided for covered employees
  who have accumulated more retention points than
  those with whom they are competing.
• Employees in a higher pay band may bump employees
  in a lower pay band in a series of related
  classes provided their retention points are
  higher than those in the lower band.
• For bumping to occur, the competitive area must
  include more that one state class title.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
18
Four Ways an Employee can be affected by a RIF

• Separation
• Demotion
• In accordance with State Human Resources
  Regulation 19-719.04, an agency may reduce an
  employees salary immediately if he is demoted as
  the result of a RIF based on loss of funds.
• Reduction in hours
• Reassignment
• Movement within an agency of an employee from one
  position to another position having the same
  State salary range, or the movement of a position
  within an agency which does not require
  reclassification

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
19
Retention of Necessary Qualifications - RNQ
An RNQ is the retention of an employee with
lower retention points over an employee with
higher retention points based on one or more of
the following

• Knowledge
• Abilities
• Skills

• Necessary Experience
• Supervisory Status

An agency must justify and defend using a
retention of necessary qualifications to retain
an employee with lower retention points.
S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
20
OHR Review and Approval of Plan

• The Budget and Control Boards Office of Human
  Resources reviews a RIF plan in the following two
  roles
• Consulting with the agency
• Reviewing and approving for procedural
  correctness
• Procedural correctness indicates only that the
  agency has included
• the components in the RIF plan as provided by
  the agencys RIF policy.
• Our approval does not include the determination
  of the competitive areas, classes, or bumping
  rights.
• An agency must have an approved plan prior to
  communicating the RIF plan to the employees.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
21
Implementation of the RIF

• An agency should communicate the following
  information to the employees affected by a RIF
• Reason for the RIF
• Competitive area(s) and competitive class(es)
• Benefits for which the employee is entitled and
  the effects upon state benefits
• Employees right to see the RIF plan, without the
  retention points
• Employees grievance rights

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
22
Implementation of the RIF (continued)

• Reinstatement Rights for One Year
• Employee may apply for any position for which he
  meets the minimum training and experience.
• If hired into an FTE position, he has all sick
  leave restored and the option to buy back all,
  some, or none of his annual leave at the rate it
  was paid out.
• The employee will retain continuous service if
  reinstated within 12 months from effective date
  of the RIF.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
23
Implementation of the RIF (continued)

• Recall Rights for One Year
• If a vacancy occurs within the same competitive
  area in the same class title as the position the
  employee held prior to the RIF, the Agency will
  recall the employee in the inverse order of the
  reduction in force.
• Agency informs employee how notifications will be
  made if a job is available.
• Recalled employees are eligible for the same
  benefits as reinstated employees.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources
24
Budget and Control Boards Office of Human
Resources

• An agency is required to record employees who are
  affected by a RIF in the Human Resources
  Information System (HRIS). OHR notifies agencies
  with a listing of displaced employees to consider
  as vacancies occur.
• OHR will provide assistance with employee
  meetings on-site presentations on change
  management..
• OHR can provide possible community and other
  public resources for affected employees.
• OHR is continuing to update its website with
  assistance for agencies and employees.

S.C. Budget and Control Board Office of Human
Resources