Human Resources Management Policy

Reduction in Force

Policy 34

NOTE: THIS POLICY, LIKE ALL OTHER MUSC HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES, IS NOT A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS SUCH. THIS POLICY MAY BE CHANGED AT ANY TIME BY THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

    1. POLICY
      1. A reduction in force (RIF) may become necessary because of conditions within or outside of the Medical University. Examples of conditions, which could necessitate a reduction in force, include a loss of funding, shortage of work, reorganization, or outsourcing/privatization.
      2. A reduction in force may require the termination of employment, involuntary demotion, reassignment, or reduction in work hours of one or more covered employees. A covered employee is a full-time or part-time employee occupying part of or all of an established full-time equivalent (FTE) position, who has satisfactorily completed the one-year probationary period.
      3. A reduction in force does not apply to non-covered employees (e.g., probationary, research grant, temporary, time-limited project employees or employees exempt from the State Employee Grievance Procedure Act).
      4. An appointing authority (President, Vice President, Dean, or Department Head) may determine the need for a RIF.
      5. The Department of Human Resources Management works in concert with the appointing authority to ensure that employees are released in a manner that is positive, equitable and in accordance with this Policy.
      6. It is understood that a RIF is a very difficult and emotional experience for the affected employee(s) and co-workers. Therefore, it is recommended that alternative efforts be explored before implementing a RIF.
    2. INFORMATION
      1. Management Responsibilities
        1. The appointing authority will determine the reason for the reduction in force, number of positions to be eliminated, competitive area(s), competitive group(s) and state class titles to be affected by the RIF.
        2. Employees
          1. Non-covered employees within the competitive area(s) and competitive group(s) [state class title(s)] should be released prior to a RIF being implemented.
          2. Only covered employees affected by a reduction in force are entitled to rights connected with the RIF Policy including bumping, reinstatement, or recall rights.
          3. Employees who are not performing satisfactorily should be separated by the appropriate method and not by reduction in force.
        3. Competitive Area(s)
          The competitive area may include but is not limited to, a unit, division, department, or geographical location. It should be an area where the staff is separately organized and clearly distinguishable from the staff in other areas and the interchange of employees would not be practical.
        4. Competitive Group(s) and State Class Title(s)
          The appointing authority shall determine the competitive group(s), based on the state class title(s) within the competitive area(s), that the reduction in force will affect. If the RIF is to apply to more than one state class title, each state class title will be treated separately except where a position is one of a series of related state class titles (e.g., Clerical Specialist, Administrative Specialist I, Administrative Specialist II, and Administrative Assistant) or in a state class that is part of a customary career path.
    3. PROCEDURES
      1. The appointing authority will submit, in writing, to the Director of Human Resources Management a request to implement a RIF. The request will include the reason for the RIF, competitive area(s), competitive group(s) [state class title(s)], the number of employees to be affected by the RIF, and the effective date for the RIF’s implementation. A current, complete organizational chart of the affected area(s) must be submitted with the request.

        The Director of the Department of Human Resources Management will develop the Plan using the information noted above and other appropriate documentation. The Plan, organizational chart, sample letter, and agency RIF policy will be submitted to the Budget and Control Board’s Office of Human Resources for approval of procedural correctness.
      2. The Plan will include:
        1. A statement of the circumstances requiring the reduction in force
        2. The competitive area(s)
        3. The competitive group(s) [state class title(s)]
        4. The proposed list of covered employees, in order of retention points, to be affected by the RIF including:
          1. Age, race and gender of all employees within the competitive area and competitive group and their retention points;
          2. A list of all employees in the competitive area(s) and state class title(s) in order of retention;
          3. Justification of any Retention of Necessary Qualifications.
        5. A listing of measures that will be taken to assist the affected employees.
      3. Once written approval of the procedural correctness of the Plan is received from the Budget and Control Board’s Office of Human Resources, the appointing authority will be notified in writing by the Director of the Department of Human Resources Management.
      4. Affected employees must receive a minimum two weeks written notification before they are released.
      5. The Plan, as approved for procedural correctness by the Budget and Control Board’s Office of Human Resources, with the exception of the retention points, will be available upon written request for review by the affected employee(s)
    4. RETENTION POINTS
      1. Retention points will be calculated by the Department of Human Resources Management. They will be based upon the length of continuous State service and the total scores of annual performance appraisals for the preceding two years.
      2. For the purpose of establishing a total score for annual performance appraisals, the following numerical values will be assigned:
        1. Substantially Exceeds Requirements: 6
        2. Exceeds Requirements: 5
        3. Meets Requirements: 4
        4. Below Requirements: 0
      3. For any employee with two or more years of continuous service in the same state class title, a presumptive rating of four (4) (Meets Requirements) will be assigned for any calendar year in which no performance appraisal was done. If the next preceding report was a six (6) (Substantially Exceeds Requirements) or a five (5) (Exceeds Requirements), the higher score will be used to compute the retention points.

        However, if a rating of zero (0) (Below Requirements) is more than two years old and if that is the most recent score, the presumptive rating of four (4) will be assigned.
      4. One point will be added to the performance appraisal score for each full year or six months or more of continuous State service after completion of the twelve-month probationary period.
      5. The credits for years of service and total credits for annual performance appraisals constitute the total number of retention points for an employee.
      6. Employees in a higher pay band within a series may compete with employees in the lower pay band within the same series. The employees being reduced from the higher pay band will have two (2) additional points added to their total retention points. If this results in the employee in the higher pay band having more retention points than the employee in the lower pay band, the employee in the lower pay band may be displaced (bumped) and the other employee retained.
      7. Retention points will not be calculated when a RIF plan requires that every position in a competitive area be eliminated. However, if positions are established within one year of the RIF, in the same competitive area and in the same competitive state class title, retention points will be calculated using continuous state service and performance appraisal points based on the effective date of the reduction in force.
    5. ESTABLISHING THE SEQUENCE FOR THE REDUCTION IN FORCE
      1. The order of the reduction in force of covered employees in each state class title will be determined by the total number of retention points for each employee.
      2. If two or more employees, affected by the RIF, have the same number of retention points and not all employees are to be affected by the reduction in force, the MUSC hire date will determine the order of the employees affected. The employee(s) more recently hired will be reassigned, demoted, or separated first.
      3. Bumping rights are provided for covered employees who have more retention points than those with whom they are competing. Under no circumstances can an employee gain from a reduction in force. Bumping rights are downward only.
    6. RETENTION OF NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS
      1. No employee with a lower number of retention points shall be retained in preference to another employee in a competitive area(s) and group(s) with a higher number of retention points except when the appointing authority determines that a Retention of Necessary Qualifications applies.
      2. When employees are competing for a position that is not to be eliminated, and the appointing authority determines that an employee with higher retention points who has rights to be placed in that position cannot satisfactorily perform the duties of the position within a reasonable training period, the employee with lower retention points may be retained in preference to the employee with higher retention points. The appointing authority may make the determination based on the lack of knowledge, abilities, skills, supervisory responsibilities or necessary experience of the employee with higher retention points.
      3. When a Retention of Necessary Qualifications is used in a reduction in force plan, justification for this retention must be documented and approved by the Director of Human Resources Management prior to submitting the plan to the Budget and Control Board’s Office of Human Resources for review and approval of procedural correctness. The Director will retain documentation supporting any retention of employees made on this basis.
    7. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REDUCTION IN FORCE
      1. Once the Budget and Control Board’s Office of Human Resources has approved the reduction in force plan for procedural correctness, the following information will be communicated to the affected employee(s):
        1. The appointing authority will inform the affected employee(s) of
          1. The reason for the reduction in force;
          2. The competitive area(s); and,
          3. The competitive group(s) [state class title(s)].
        2. The MUSC Department of Human Resources Management will inform the affected employee(s) of:
          1. The benefits to which the employee is entitled and the manner in which the reduction in force will affect the employee’s State benefits (e.g., health insurance, optional life insurance and retirement);
          2. The employee’s reinstatement rights (e.g., reinstatement of all sick leave, option of buying back all, some, or none of the annual leave at the rate which it was paid out);
          3. The employee’s recall rights to any position, within the competitive area, that becomes available in the same state class title as the position the employee held prior to the reduction in force;
          4. The manner in which the department will notify the employee of any such vacancies; and
          5. The requirements of S.C. Code of Laws Ann. Section 8-11-185, which requires the University to report information about the employees separated in a reduction in force to the Office of Human Resources
    8. GRIEVANCES
      1. A covered employee who is affected by a reduction in force may file a grievance through the University’s grievance procedure and an appeal to the State Human Resources Director, only if the grievance or appeal is based on inconsistent or improper application of the Reduction In Force Policy or plan.
    9. RECALL AND REINSTATEMENT RIGHTS
      1. An employee affected by a reduction in force will have recall and reinstatement rights to a position in State Government for a period of one year after the effective date of the reduction in force. At the time of the recall or reinstatement, MUSC will reinstate all employee benefits including the employee’s accumulated sick leave, and will provide the employee the option of buying back all, some, or none of his annual leave at the rate it was paid out at the time of the separation.
      2. Recall Rights
        1. If a vacancy occurs within the competitive area which is in the same state class title as the position the employee(s) held prior to the reduction in force, the employee(s) will be recalled in the inverse order of the reduction in force.
        2. The Department of Human Resources Management will notify the employee(s) in writing of the job offer and recall rights. If an employee does not accept the job offer within ten days, the employee’s recall rights are waived.
      3. Reinstatement Rights
        1. An employee affected by a reduction in force may apply for any state position for which he/she meets the minimum training and experience requirements. Should the employee accept a job offer to a state position which receives benefits, he/she is entitled to the restoration of employee benefits, including the employee’s accumulated sick leave, and the agency will provide the employee the option of buying back all, some or none of his/her annual leave at the rate it was paid out at the time of the separation.
        2. If the employee is reinstated to another position or accepts a position in a lower pay band than the one from which he/she was separated, he/she still retains recall rights to a position in the same state class in the competitive area.

     

    Approved by:

    Information Contact

    Date
      _____________________________
    State Budget & Control Board
    Office of Human Resources    		 Director
    of
    Human Resources Management    		 Revision Date:
    August 2004
    June 2001

    Effective Date:
    July 20,2001