(a) Definitions. In this section, the following words have the meanings indicated.
(1) "Department or office" means a unit of County government under the authority and supervision of a single appointing authority as that term is defined in § 804 of the Charter.
(2) "Layoff" means:
(i) a termination of an individual from County employment caused by workload reduction, reduced or eliminated appropriations, or abolition of positions in the budget; or
(ii) a permanent reduction in the work hours of an employee from full-time to part-time.
(3) "Order of layoffs" means the sequence in which employees within an affected classification are terminated from employment.
(4) "Recall" means the re-employment of an individual with the County in the same classification held by the employee at the time of the layoff.
(5) "Seniority" means an employee's length of continuous service with the County since the employee's last date of hire by the County, unless defined otherwise by a collective bargaining agreement.
(6) "Time in grade" means the time that an employee has served in the classification from which the employee is laid-off.
(b) Order of layoffs generally. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, or memorandum of agreement, negotiated and executed in accordance with Title 4:
(1) A laid-off employee may displace the least senior employee in the same classification in another department or office.
(2) The order of layoffs among uniformed officers in the Detention Center, Sheriff's Office, Police Department, or Fire Department shall be as follows:
(i) The employee with the least time in grade occupying the position subject to layoff shall demote to the preceding classification within the rank structure. This process shall be repeated in subordinate classifications as may be necessary to fulfill the requirement for personnel reduction. The employee with the least seniority in the department shall be laid off.
(ii) If two or more employees have the same time in grade, demotion shall be governed by seniority. If two or more employees have the same seniority, the order of layoffs shall be determined by the appointing authority on the basis of the relative qualifications, skills, and abilities of the employees.
(iii) An employee who displaces another uniformed Detention Center, Sheriff's Office, Fire Department or Police Department employee shall be recalled to a position within the employee's former classification when such a position becomes available. An employee with the most time in grade shall have the first right to be recalled, and an employee with the least time in grade shall have the last right to be recalled.
(3) For employees whose job classifications are included in a collective bargaining unit certified under the provisions of Title 4, the order of layoffs shall be governed by the applicable memorandum of agreement.
(c) Seniority. For employees not within the representation of a collective bargaining unit, and employees within the representation of a collective bargaining unit for which there is no current, valid collective bargaining agreement, the order of layoffs shall be governed by seniority. If employees have the same seniority, the order of layoffs shall be determined by the appointing authority on the basis of the relative qualifications, skills, and abilities of the employees.
(d) Notice. Unless specified otherwise by a collective bargaining agreement or by law, an employee shall receive at least 15 calendar days' written notice of layoff.
(e) Benefits. A laid-off employee shall be paid for all annual and disability leave to which the employee is entitled upon leaving County service under §§ 12-1-402 and 12-1-403 of this Code, and shall be allowed to continue health coverage under the provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300bb-1 et seq.
(f) Recall. Unless specified otherwise by a collective bargaining agreement or by law, a laid-off employee has the right to be recalled to the classification from which the employee was laid off if a position within the classification becomes available within 18 months after the employee was laid off, and if the employee retains the qualifications, skill, and ability to perform the duties of the position. Recall to work shall be in the reverse order of layoff. A laid-off employee shall be placed on eligibility lists for priority re-employment with the County in accordance with § 810 of the Charter.
(g) Re-employment. A laid-off employee who is re-employed with the County within 18 months of layoff shall be credited with the length of service accrued by the employee at the time of the layoff for purposes of calculating entitlement to annual leave and eligibility for longevity salary increases.
(h) Pension plans. A laid-off employee may defer a request for a refund of participant contributions in the applicable pension plan for up to 18 months from the time of layoff. A laid-off employee who is re- employed with the County within 18 months of layoff shall be credited with the service accrued by the employee at the time of the layoff for purposes of pension eligibility if the employee did not receive a refund of participant contributions prior to re-employment.
(i) Outplacement program. The Personnel Office shall establish an employee outplacement program to assist laid-off employees with re-employment and benefit counseling and other matters relating to the loss of employment with the County.
(j) Rules and regulations. The Personnel Officer may adopt rules and regulations consistent with the express provisions of this section to implement the provisions of this section.
(1985 Code, Art. 8, § 1-109) (Bill No. 31-92; Bill No. 34-93; Bill No. 58-93; Bill No. 35-96; Bill No. 65-97; Bill No. 94-01)