149.20 LAYOFFS AND REEMPLOYMENT.
   (a)   Reduction in Personnel. Whenever it becomes necessary to reduce the number of employees in the classified service, the Director shall have the power to designate the classification, divisions and departments to be affected by such layoffs. The Director shall notify the Commission and furnish the names of the employees laid off in the order in which such layoffs occurred.
   (b)   Order of Layoffs.
      (1)   Whenever it becomes necessary to reduce the working force in a classification in any division of the City, the Director shall lay off employees inversely in the order of seniority. No layoffs shall be affected or influenced by politics, religion, sex or race, and layoff shall not be used as a substitute for disciplinary action.
      (2)   In the event two or more employees of the same status in the same classification are subject to layoff and have the same seniority status, the order of layoff shall be according to their final grades on the examination passed to obtain such classification. The employee with the lowest grade shall be laid off first.
      (3)   Any permanent employee who has been promoted and is subject to layoff shall be entitled to return to the position from which the employee was promoted. If such former position has been filled, the employee in the position shall be demoted into the lower position occupied prior to the promotion. This process shall continue until the most recently hired employee affected by such demotions is laid off.
   (c)   Seniority Credit. Seniority credit shall be the amount of continuous service an employee has accumulated in the service of the City, according to the following rules:
      (1)   Any permanent employee who has served as a temporary or probationary employee and who has achieved permanent status with no interruption in service shall receive seniority credit for the continuous service during the period served as a temporary or probationary employee.
      (2)   Part-time employees shall have their continuous service prorated as it relates to full-time service when determining seniority credit for layoff purposes.
      (3)   Any leave without pay shall be subtracted when computing the continuous service of an employee for purpose of determining seniority credit.
      (4)   The continuous service of a permanent employee who has resigned and has been reinstated shall be computed from the time of the last reinstatement and no seniority credit shall accrue for service prior thereto.
      (5)   Notwithstanding any other section of this chapter, rank shall in all cases supersede length of service when determining seniority, with higher rank being senior to lower rank.
   (d)   Reemployment List.
      (1)   When any permanent classified employee is laid off, the name of such person shall be placed at the top of the eligible list of classification from which the employee was laid off. If there is no existing eligible list at the time, the employee's name shall constitute one. When two or more persons have been laid off, whether at the same time or not, their names shall be placed at the top of such eligible list in the order of their appointment in the classification held by them when laid off.
      (2)   Such person shall be eligible for certification and reemployment for a period of one year thereafter, or, if sooner, until such time as the employee is removed from the eligible list for the reasons provided in Section 149.13.
         (1984 Code Sec. 35.39)