Reduction In Force
POLICY
It is the policy of Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation (JHHSC) and The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) to identify that when the need for a reduction in staff occurs, management will select the best qualified employee(s) for retention using the following criteria:
• Active discipline (active status such as a written reprimand can disqualify an employee from consideration)
• Knowledge, skills, and behaviors to qualify for the remaining jobs
• Performance rating (a rating of outstanding moves employee to top of a retention consideration list)
• Seniority (when the above criteria have been considered and all other things are equal)
This policy applies to all non-managerial regular employees (generally graded at Pay Grade 36 and below). This policy does not apply to employees who are members of the Union (see Collective Bargaining Agreement for layoff procedures)
RESPONSIBILITIES
Management
Determines that a reduction in staff is needed and uses a consistent process to decide which employees will be retained (see chart - Attachment A). Any compensation associated with the RIF program will be the responsibility of the department.
Office of Career Services
Acts as focal point to receive all notification of impending reduction in force and business rationale letters. Career Services will coordinate the efforts of Human Resources in managing the reduction process and outplacement.
Employee
Once management has notified an affected employee of the need for staffing changes, the employee will seek guidance through Career Services. The employee will actively seek a position through the regular bidding process.
PROCEDURES
Management
1. Manager will determine that a reduction in force is required with appropriate approval from the Department Director/Administrator. A business rationale letter will be generated and sent to the Career Services with the approval sign-off of the Director/Administrator at least six (6) weeks before the proposed effective date of employee notification. The affected employee(s) is to receive at least a four (4) week notice before the effective date of the reduction.
2. In consultation with Career Services, the Manager develops a list of employees with a similar scope of responsibilities and duties.
3. The basic questions to ask to decide which employees have a similar scope of responsibilities and duties are listed below:
a. Do the potentially affected employees with a similar scope of responsibilities and duties cross departmental or unit lines?
b. Can the restructuring be coordinated across departments or Functional Units with minimal disruption?
c. Are the potentially affected employees with similar scope of responsibilities and duties specific to a unit?
If the answers to (1) and (2) above are yes, and the answer to (3) is no, then it would be most efficient to identify employees with a similar scope of responsibilities and duties on a JHHSC/JHH wide basis. If the answer to number (3) is yes, it would be appropriate to keep the group of employees considered in this process confined to the unit.
4. Manager will determine if any of those employees have any active discipline. Active discipline means any action beyond counseling, i.e., written reprimand, written warning with decision making leave, or any such actions taken for attendance. Any employee having active discipline will not be considered for the job(s) under consideration but instead will be laid off, be reassigned, be demoted, or be provided with other appropriate support services.
5. Manager will determine if any of the employees with a similar scope of responsibilities and duties had received at their last performance review: does not meet expectations. Any employee with such a rating will not be considered for the remaining job(s) but instead will be laid off, be reassigned, be demoted, or be provided with other appropriate support services.
6. Manager will determine which of the remaining employees have the job-specific knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to qualify for the remaining jobs. If those characteristics do not exist in sufficient quantity, the employee will not be considered for the job(s) in question but instead will be eligible for transfer, reassignment, demotion, laid off or be provided with other appropriate support services.
7. Manager will determine if any of the remaining employees had received the highest performance rating at their last performance review. Any employee(s) who had received the highest rating will be tentatively placed at the top of the selection list regardless of seniority.
8. If there are more employees on this list than are required to fill the job(s), the most senior person(s) will be retained on the selection list.
(This step can be part of the decision making only if a Performance Management System has been in effect for at least six (6) months.) This list is to accompany the business rationale letter that is sent to Career Services six weeks before the proposed effective date of the reduction.
9. If all jobs have not been filled through the above process, seniority will rank the remaining employees (total uninterrupted JHHSC/JHH service regardless of part-time or full-time employment status). Based on that ranking, management will make a tentative selection using the most senior employees to fill the job(s) in question.
10. If there is an adverse impact, the EEO/AA Officer and management will examine the criteria used in selection of the retained employees. If the criteria are deemed to have been unfairly or illegally biased against any protected class of employees or if there is an adverse impact, the criteria will be modified and reapplied to the entire population of employees with a similar scope of responsibilities and duties. If the criteria are determined to be fair and legally defensible, the employees who had been tentatively retained will be retained.
11. Employees affected by reduction in force have the right to bid and will be positions for up to twelve (12) months after the last day of employment. An employee who successfully bids on a position within twelve (12) months of the layoff date will be bridged to accrue that time as service for seniority purposes which includes PTO accrual and any other relevant benefit. Affected employees will be selected through the bidding process according to the criteria established. If the employee has not successfully bid before the end of the twelve (12) month period, the employee will lose the ability to bid and bridge time.
12. Job offer after an employee is notified of his or her current job elimination - if an employee’s bid is accepted for a comparable position, the employee must accept that position or lose bidding rights, seniority and all benefits associated with the RIF.
REFERENCES
• Promotional Opportunity Policy • Demotion Policy
• Attendance Management Policy • Discipline Policy
• Performance Management Policy • Assessment Period Policy
• RIF - A Guide for Management
SPONSOR
Vice President, Human Resources
REVIEW CYCLE
3 Years
APPROVAL
Pamela D. Paulk 10/1/03
______________________________ _______________________________
Vice President, Human Resources Date
