Common use of Reduction of Forces Clause in Contracts

Reduction of Forces. 1. Whenever it is necessary to layoff or transfer employees due to lack of work, the following procedure shall apply: a. When a classification is affected by lack of work, the employees in that classification with the least seniority will be given one week's notice of transfer or layoff provided those employees retained on this basis are qualified to perform the work. Any employee who is to be laid off for lack of work shall have one week's notice or one week's pay at the prevailing weekly schedule of hours at the time of layoff. b. Every effort will be made to place the affected employees as quickly as possible. However, in the case of those employees who are eligible for transfer on a seniority basis, if the necessary rearrangement of personnel cannot be made in the one week notice period, the affected employees may be removed from the payroll for lack of work for a period not to exceed two weeks. Thus, shorter service employees may remain in the Bargaining Unit for periods not to exceed two weeks. 2. Any employee affected who has seniority will be considered for transfer or layoff as follows: a. He/she may transfer to an open job in his/her present classification; b. If no such open job exists, he/she may displace the shortest service employee in his/her present classification; c. If his/her seniority or qualifications or both do not permit him/her to displace an employee as described above, he/she may fill an opening in a lower rated classification that he/she previously held or is otherwise qualified to perform; d. If his/her seniority or qualifications or both do not permit him/her to fill an opening as described in (2) (c) above, he/she will displace the shortest service employee on a job in a lower rated classification in which he/she has previously held a job or is otherwise qualified to perform. e. Any employee so displaced will be subject to the same entire layoff procedure as the affected employees above.