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Here are answers to questions we hear regularly
Questions? Scroll down the list below – in most cases, you’ll probably find the answers you're looking for!
Reduction in Force Q: Who initiates a reduction in force (layoff)? A: The county. In most cases, the layoff needs to be approved by the board of supervisors. Q: What are some common reasons that a layoff is initiated? A: Lack of funds, lack of work, or whenever it is in the best interest of the county to reduce staff. Area of Layoff Q: Can the county designate classifications in specific programs or locations for layoff? A: Yes. Q: Does this need to be approved by the board of supervisors? A: Probably not. Work History Form Q: Should I put all county employment on the Work History Form? A: Yes. Seniority Score Computation Q: How is seniority calculated? A: Full-Time Regular Employee - One seniority point is awarded for each qualifying month. Q: What is the definition of a qualifying month? A: The employee must be in compensated status for a minimum of 15 calendar days (includes Saturday’s and Sunday’s) in a month. Q: Is seniority calculated differently for Part-Time employees? A: Yes. Part-Time regular employees gain one seniority point for every 160 hours worked. Q: Are layoffs based on seniority points only? A: No. The following may have an impact on a seniority score: leaves without pay, the last two regularly scheduled performance evaluations, and/or employees in a probationary status who have not yet passed the probationary period. Q: What is the definition of leave without pay? A: A leave without pay starts when the employee exhausts all leave balances and is no longer in compensated status (receiving county money). State Disability Insurance (SDI) or any other funds that do not come from the county do not keep an employee in compensated status. Q: What if an employee is on leave due to Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? A: There are no special calculation policies surrounding FMLA. There are only two exceptions to where an employee will continue to accrue seniority even if all leave balances are exhausted: 1) military service; 2) approved industrial disability leave. Q: Does extra help employment count toward the overall seniority score? A: No. Only regular help employment is counted. Q: If an employee transitioned from the District Attorney’s office to the Department of Child Support Services, did the employee retain their county seniority? A: Yes. The person must remain in that specific CSS department in order to retain their county seniority. If they transfer out of that specific CSS department, they lose their county seniority. Q: What determines if service in another county counts toward a seniority score? A: The employee would had to have held a regular status position in the Department of Social Services or Department of Child Support Services AND there must have been less than a six month break in service between qualifying county departments. Q: If an employee worked in a current Merit County DSS or CSS department and left that department to work in a department other than DSS or CSS within the same county, will the employee retain the DSS/CSS seniority prior to leaving to work in a non-merit department? A: Yes. However, the employee would not continue to accrue MSS seniority while working in the non-merit department. Q: If an employee worked in the county for ten years, but was only in a merit covered department for two years, would the employee receive credit for all ten years? A: No. MSS would only calculate seniority for the time that the employee was in a merit covered department. The only exception is for those who transitioned from the District Attorney’s office to Child Support Services. The county would provide MSS with the employees county seniority and that would then be integrated with the MSS seniority. Performance Evaluations Q: How does a performance evaluation impact the layoff process? A: Merit System Services will determine if the county performance evaluation form meets the required criteria. If the form meets the criteria, there are three instances where the evaluations may have an impact:
A: No. Tie Breakers Q: How are seniority score ties broken? A: Ties are broken in the following sequence:
A: No Q: Can county time serve as a tie breaker? A: Yes Q: Does time in class count? A: Only for tie breaking purposes. The seniority score is based on overall time in DSS and CSS in IMS and ALMS counties. Order of layoff Q: Is an extra help position treated differently in a layoff process than someone who is in a regular help position? A: Yes. Anyone who holds an extra help position in the affected classification(s) will be laid off before someone in a regular help position. Q: If an employee has permanent status in the career service, but is probationary in the class of layoff, how are they treated? A: Probationary employees in the class of layoff are laid off before employees with permanent status in the class of layoff even if they have more seniority than a permanent employee in the class of layoff. However, the probationary employee would have bumping rights to previous classes where they held permanent or probationary status. Q: If an employee is on probation when the county goes to the board of supervisors requesting approval for the reduction in force, however, at the time of layoff the employee will have achieved permanent status, which status will be taken into account at the time of layoff? A: MSS looks at what the employees’ status will be at the effective date of layoff. Q: How are flex classes treated? A: Flex classes are typically those that have a trainee and a journey level. Examples of such classes are Account Clerk I/II, Child Support Specialist I/II, Office Assistant I/II, Eligibility Worker I/II, Social Worker I/II, etc. No matter what the seniority score is, the employee(s) at the trainee level will always be laid off before employees at the journey level. Employee Notification Q: How far in advance should MSS notify affected employees? A: LAPS requires a minimum of 21 days notice. Q: Can county notification take the place of MSS notification? A: No. Q: What if the employee is on vacation when layoff notices are distributed? A: The letter will be sent via certified mail. Whether or not the employee signs for the letter, MSS will consider the certified mail as proper notification as long as it is sent a minimum of 21 calendar days prior to the effective date of layoff. Bumping Q: If an employee is laid off, do they automatically have bumping rights? A: No. The employee must have held probationary or permanent status in a lower class. Only then may the option to bump be available. Q: If an employee held probationary or permanent status in a lower class, is there any reason why they would not be able to bump? A: Yes. The affected employee must have a higher seniority score than the employee with the least seniority score in the lower class. If the affected employee has a lower seniority score, then the option to bump is not available. Q: Can an employee who is being laid off in a higher class bump someone in a lower class? A: Only if the employee who is being laid off has held status in a lower class and has more seniority than the person with the least seniority in the lower class. Q: How will an affected employee know which classification(s) are available to bump to? A: MSS will provide a Demotion Preference Form to each affected employee along with the layoff letter. Q: Can an affected employee bump to a non-merit department? A: Not according to LAPS. However, a county may provide for this. Q: If county HR has positions that an affected employee may transfer into and at the same time the employee has the option to bump to a lower class, which should the employee choose? A: If the employee chooses to bump, they will continue to accrue MSS seniority. Either way, the employee will be placed on a reemployment list that will be active for three years. Q: If an employee chooses not to bump, can they receive unemployment? A: This can only be answered by the State Employment Development Department (EDD). Q: Can a non-merit employee bump into a merit department? A: No. Reemployment List Q: If placed on a reemployment list for a particular classification and a vacancy occurs in the same classification at a later date, who gets offered the job first? A: The employee who has the most seniority on the reemployment list. Reemployment lists – A probationary employee in the class of layoffs who has permanent status in the Interagency Merit System, and who is laid off, will be placed on the reemployment list for that class. This differs from probationary employees with no permanent status in the system whose name will not be placed on the reemployment list, but whose name will be placed back as active on the certified eligible list. Placement on seniority list – Permanent and probationary employees will be clearly delineated on the seniority list with permanent employees on the top of the list noted as Permanent Employees, in descending order, and probationary employees on the bottom half of the list noted as Probationary Employees, in descending order. Probationary period after reemployment – If a probationary employee is reemployed after being laid off, they may or may not serve a new probationary period. This decision will be left up to the director, and it will be based on such things as how long the employee was not employed, county practice, and consistency; the director will be required to treat everyone fairly. This is comparable to situations where employees transfer from other counties, are reinstated, or transfer from limited to regular probationary. Appeals Q: Is there any reason that seniority rules would be put aside? A: Only if there was evidence of discrimination. Q: Can an employee appeal their seniority score? A: Yes. If an employee disagrees with their seniority score, they may contact Merit System Services directly to inquire as to how their seniority score was calculated. Misc. Q: If laid off in this county, could I be given any priority in another MSS county? A: No, however, you may inquire with another MSS county department regarding a reinstatement. Look online for reinstatement opportunities at www.mss.ca.gov/TransfersReinstatements/ Benefits: All questions surrounding benefits must be directed to the County Human Resources department.
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