Common use of REDUCTION IN FORCE AND SENIORITY Clause in Contracts

REDUCTION IN FORCE AND SENIORITY. If and when the Employer shall deem it necessary to reduce the professional staff, the following shall apply: If the furlough(s) cannot be avoided through normal attrition, members shall be retained on the basis of seniority rights acquired through continuous employment in the Southern Lehigh School District in any or all areas of certification. Seniority shall include those years taught in the districts, which have been consolidated into the Southern Lehigh School District. Full seniority will accrue to involuntarily demoted part-time employees. Seniority shall continue to accrue during furloughs and all approved leaves of absences. Members of the bargaining unit shall be permitted to exercise seniority rights only after tenure is granted. Members of the Bargaining Unit cannot exercise seniority rights into any area in which they are not certified. Should there be more than one (1) employee with exactly the same number of days of seniority in the same area of certification, the individual whose name appears last in the school board minutes of the meeting at which these employees were initially hired shall be considered the least senior employee. Conversely, the first name that appears in the school board minutes shall be considered the most senior employee of the group. If it appears a reduction in staff is necessary, the Employer shall meet with the Bargaining Agent prior to the notification of the employee(s) involved, for the purpose of discussing possible methods of avoiding employee furloughs. This meeting shall be held no later than August 1 of each year. The Employer shall also give at least thirty (30) calendar days advance notice of layoff/suspension to the employee(s) involved and to the Bargaining Agent. The final determination of the number of professional employees to be furloughed, according to Section 1124 of the PA School Code, shall be reserved to the Employer and shall not be subject to the Grievance procedure or arbitration under the terms of this contract. Furloughed teachers annually, at the anniversary date of the furlough, must report to the Employer in writing his/her intent to accept the same or similar position when offered. It shall be the responsibility of the furloughed employee to notify the Employer, in writing, of any address change. A recall position shall be defined as 1) a professional vacancy; or 2) an opening in excess of 90 teacher-day duration. Recalled employees shall be compensated at their current salary placement. Furloughed employees shall have the right to refuse full-time substitute positions. Furloughed employees will be recalled in the inverse order of their furlough when a recall position exists for which they are certified. No new appointment shall be made in a subject area when there is a certified furloughed employee available who has had prior teaching experience in the subject area. If a furloughed teacher refuses a recall position offered for which the furloughed teacher has proper certification, the name will be stricken from the recall list. Upon request, furloughed teachers will be placed on the day-to-day substitute teacher list in the areas of their certification, and compensated at the then current daily rate. Employees who are furloughed shall be given the opportunity to substitute on a day-to-day basis in a Bargaining Unit position outside the area of their certification when a certified substitute cannot be secured by the Employer, providing that there is no violation of the Professional Personnel Certification and Staffing Policies and Guidelines of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as may be amended. A furloughed employee who is enrolled in a day-time college program during the period of furlough and who is recalled shall be given the option of delaying his/her return to service until the end of the current semester. No furloughed employee shall be prevented from engaging in another occupation during the period of furlough.