REDUCTION IN FORCE 14.01 When a reduction of staff is deemed appropriate, due to financial reasons as determined by the Board, by reason of decreased pupil enrollment, return to duty of regular teachers after leaves of absence, suspension of schools, or territorial changes affecting the District, the Board will implement such reduction in accordance with this procedure. A decline in student enrollment as prescribed in the statute shall be defined as a decline in the number of students District-wide over the previous five (5) school years.
14.02 Thirty (30) days prior to the Board implementing a reduction in force, the Association President will be notified in writing of the intent to reduce staff.
14.03 Ten (10) days before the Board acts on a reduction in force, the individual affected bargaining unit members will be alerted of the fact by the Administration.
14.04 The Association President shall receive the following information prior to the Board implementing a reduction force:
1. The reasons for the reduction.
2. A list of specific positions to be reduced.
3. All members of the bargaining unit will be placed on a seniority list for each teaching field for which they are properly and regularly certificated/licensed. Bargaining unit members serving under limited contracts will be placed on the list under continuing contract bargaining unit members, also in descending order of seniority, according to the records of the District. It is the sole responsibility of a teacher to update the information possessed by the District concerning the current certificates/licenses he/she possesses by September 15th of each year. The Board shall submit the seniority lists to the Association for its review by October 30 of each year. By November 30 of each year, the Association shall advise the Board of any errors on the seniority lists. Thereafter, the seniority lists shall be considered final until the seniority lists for the next year are created, except in the case of properly awarding continuing contract(s).
14.05 Seniority shall not be the basis for making decisions regarding reduction in force except when choosing between bargaining unit members who have comparable evaluations, regardless of contract status. For reduction in force purposes only, Accomplished and Skilled will be considered comparable.
14.06 Seniority shall mean length of continuous service, on a contracted basis, in the District. Approved leaves of absence shall not break continuous service but neither shall they count for years of service. Should a tie occur, seniority will be determined by date the Board takes action on the employment contract. Thereafter, ties will be broken by drawing of the highest card from a deck of cards, in a meeting of the Association President and Superintendent. Ace is the highest card. The affected bargaining unit members may be present during the drawing of cards.
REDUCTION IN FORCE (RIF 13.1 This Section 13 shall apply to all Covered Employees.
13.2 As provided in state law and Board policy, the Board may cancel the employment contracts of Covered Employees when there is a justifiable decrease in the number of covered employee positions as a result of a fiscal exigency or program change as determined by the Board. However, before any meeting of the Board at which the Board will consider a proposed resolution or decision that a fiscal exigency exists or a program change is to be made that may require the cancellation of the employment contract of one or more Covered Employees, the Superintendent shall convene a meeting of the Professional Council established pursuant to Section 7 above to consult regarding the nature and extent of the fiscal exigency or proposed program change, and regarding any plan then contemplated by the administration for reduction of covered employee positions.
13.3 If the Board decides that the number of covered employee positions is to be reduced, normal attrition, retirement, and resignations shall be considered prior to any cancellation of Covered Employee employment contracts. In the event that cancellation of Covered Employee employment contracts is necessary to achieve the reduction required by the Board, the following shall be considered as significant factors in determining which particular employment contracts will be recommended for cancellation:
13.3.1 The needs of the district.
13.3.2 The best interest of the students enrolled in the district.
13.3.3 Education, licensing endorsements and other professional qualifications.
13.3.4 Job performance over the previous three year period as measured using the criteria and standards set by the Board for evaluation of Teachers and Counselors in accordance with applicable state law and state board of education rules governing evaluation of licensed personnel.
13.4 The probationary or non-probationary status of a Covered Employee, and the seniority of a Covered Employee, shall also be considered as additional factors in determining which employment contracts will be recommended for cancellation as a result of the decrease in covered employee positions, except that such additional factors may be considered only after the consideration of the factors set forth in the Paragraph 13.3 above, and only if consideration of such additional factors is in the best interest of the students enrolled in the district. The parties agree that such additional factors shall be applied as follows: (1) as between Covered Employees in the same endorsement area for whom the factors set forth subparagraph 13.3.1 to 13.3.4, above are not determinative as to whose employment contract should be cancelled, the Probationary I Covered Employees should be cancelled first, Probationary II Covered Employees second, and Probationary III Covered Employees third, before the employment contracts of Non-probationary Status Covered Employees are cancelled; and (2) as between Non-probationary Status Covered Employees in the same licensed and endorsement area for whom the factors set forth subparagraph 13.3.1 to 13.3.4, above are not determinative as to whose employment contract should be cancelled, the employment contracts of Non-probationary Status Covered Employees will be cancelled in the inverse order of seniority.
13.5 Covered Employees who have been subject to a RIF shall have the right to be recalled to a covered employee position, for which they are qualified, within the District for one (1) year from the date of RIF. Covered Employees shall be recalled in reverse order of RIF and previously accrued benefits shall be restored.
13.6 Probationary Covered Employees whose contracts will be canceled during, instead of at the end of, a school year; and Non-probationary Status Covered Employees whose contracts will be canceled either during, or at the end of, a school year, shall have a right to a hearing on the propriety of such cancellation in accordance with Board policy and regulations. If such a hearing is desired, the Covered Employee will request it in writing to the Board or Superintendent within ten (10) days after being notified of the proposed contract cancellation. If a hearing is requested, the Board will appoint an impartial hearing officer, who will specify the procedural rules to apply at such hearing. At the hearing, the Covered Employee may be represented by a person of the Covered Employee’s choice.
WORKFORCE REDUCTION SECTION 1 Layoffs
(A) When employees are to be laid off, the state shall implement such layoff in the following manner:
(1) The competitive area within which layoffs will be affected shall be defined as statewide within the DHSMV.
(2) Layoff shall be by occupational level within the Florida Highway Patrol bargaining unit.
(3) An employee who has not attained permanent status in his current position may be laid off without applying the provision for retention rights.
(4) No employee with permanent status in his current position shall be laid off while an employee who does not hold permanent status in his current position is serving in that broadband level unless the permanent employee does not elect to exercise his retention rights or does not meet the selective competition criteria.
(5) All employees who have permanent status in their current position shall be ranked on a layoff list based on the total retention points derived as follows:
(a) Length of service retention points shall be based on one point for each month of continuous service in a Career Service position.
1. An employee who resigns from one Career Service position to accept employment in another Career Service position is not considered to have a break in service.
2. An employee who has been laid off and is reemployed within one year from the date of the layoff, shall not be considered to have a break in service.
3. Moving from Career Service to Selected Exempt Service or Senior Management Service and back to Career Service does not constitute a break in service unless the employee’s break in service is more than 31 calendar days. Only time spent in the Career Service can be counted in calculating retention points.
(b) Retention points deducted for performance not meeting performance standards or work expectations defined for the position shall be based on the five years immediately prior to the DHSMV’s established cutoff date. Five points shall be deducted for each month an employee has a rating below performance expectations.
(6) The layoff list shall be prepared by totaling retention points. Employees eligible for veterans’ preference pursuant to section 295.07(1)(a) or (b), F.S., shall have fifteen percent added to their total retention points, those eligible pursuant to section 295.07(1)(c), (d), or (e), F.S., shall have ten percent added to their total retention points, and those eligible pursuant to section 295.071(1)(f), or (g), F.S., shall have five percent added to their total retention points.
(7) The employee with the highest total retention points is placed at the top of the list, and the employee with the lowest retention points is placed at the bottom of the list.
(8) The employee at the top of the list shall bump the employee at the bottom of the list. The next highest employee on the list and the remaining employees shall be handled in the same manner until the total number of filled positions in the broadband level to be abolished is complete.
(9) Should two or more employees have the same combined total of retention points, the order of layoff shall be determined by giving preference for retention in the following sequence:
(a) The employee with the longest service in the affected broadband level.
(b) The employee with the longest continuous service in the Career Service.
(c) The employee who is entitled to veterans’ preference pursuant to section 295.07(1), F.S.
(10) An employee who has permanent status in his current position and is to be laid off shall be given at least 14 calendar days’ notice of such layoff or two weeks’ pay or a combination of days of notice and pay. Any payment will be made at the employee’s current hourly base rate of pay. The notice of layoff shall be in writing and sent to the employee by certified mail, return receipt requested. Within seven calendar days after receiving the notice of layoff, the employee shall have the right to request, in writing, a reassignment, lateral action, or demotion within the competitive area in lieu of layoff to a position in a broadband level within the bargaining unit in which the employee held permanent status, or to a position at the level of or below the current level in the bargaining unit, in which the employee held permanent status. Such request must be in writing and reassignment or demotion cannot be effected to a higher broadband level.
(11) An employee’s request for reassignment, lateral action, or demotion shall be granted unless it would cause the layoff of another employee who possesses a greater total of retention points.
(12) An employee adversely affected as a result of another employee having a greater number of retention points shall have the same right of reassignment, lateral action, or demotion under the procedure as provided in this section.
(13) If an employee requests a reassignment, lateral action, or demotion in lieu of layoff, the same formula and criteria for establishing retention points shall be used as prescribed in this section.
(B) If there is to be a layoff of employees the state shall take all reasonable steps to place any adversely affected employees in existing vacancies for which they are qualified.
(C) If work performed by employees in this unit is to be performed by non-state employees, the state agrees to encourage the employing entity to consider any adversely affected unit employees for employment in its organization if the state has been unable to place the employees in other positions within the Career Service System.
REDUCTION IN WORK FORCE (a) In the event of a reduction in the work force, regular full-time and regular part-time employees shall be laid off in reverse order of seniority, provided that there are available employees with greater seniority who are qualified and have the ability to do the work of the employees laid off. The Employer shall give regular employees written notice of layoff or normal pay for that period in lieu of notice as follows:
i) One (1) weeks’ notice after three (3) consecutive months of employment,
ii) Two (2) weeks’ notice after twelve (12) consecutive months of employment,
iii) Three (3) weeks’ notice after three (3) consecutive years, plus one additional week for each additional year of employment to a maximum of eight (8) weeks.
iv) Employees shall be entitled to Group Termination notice/pay pursuant to Section 64 of the Employment Standards Act.
(b) Laid-off regular employees shall retain their seniority and perquisites accumulated up to the time of layoff, for a period of one (1) year and shall be rehired, if the employee possesses the capability of performing the duties of the vacant job on the basis of the posting procedure. If a laid-off employee is not recalled to work within twelve (12) calendar months of layoff, such employee may be terminated by written notification at the expiration of the twelve (12) calendar month period. Laid-off employees failing to report for work of an ongoing nature within seven (7) days of the date of receipt of notification by registered mail shall be considered to have abandoned their right to employment. Employees required to give two (2) weeks' notice to another Employer shall be deemed to be in compliance with the seven