SECTION 16.35 TEMPORARY LAYOFF
Last Update: 1/09
A.
Relevant
Provisions
If temporary layoffs become necessary, they must be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the collective bargaining agreements or the DAS-HRE rules.
Article VIII
– Hours of Work
Nothing herein shall be construed as a guarantee of hours of work per day or per work week (or work period for SPOC).
Effective
July 1, 2003:
The employer will determine the total number of days needed and apply those days to the least senior employee. The temporary layoff cannot exceed ninety (90) consecutive calendar days per employee per fiscal year and shall not carry contiguously into the following fiscal year. (Thirty days for PFS and Blue Collar.)
Prior to implementing a temporary layoff, the Employer
will first terminate all non-permanent employees who perform similar duties,
including temporary service employees such as Manpower, Olsten, Merit Resources,
etc.
The classification series is to be used for
determining the least senior employee to be affected. The temporary layoff units are specified in
the
No more than 30% of the employees in the temporary
layoff unit may be temporarily laid off in a fiscal year.
Volunteers, for any part of the temporary layoff, will
be accepted unless the absence of the volunteer would cause hardship on
operating efficiency. Employees must
volunteer for at least one calendar week unless a smaller period of time is
agreed upon.
Employees will continue to accrue sick leave and
vacation time and the Employer will continue to pay the Employer’s share of
insurance.
Temporary layoff language for Regents is in Appendix M
of the
The
Temporary layoff of less than twenty (20) consecutive working days. In such cases, employees will be laid off by seniority within classification and work unit.
SPOC
Agreement:
The
Temporary layoff of less than twenty (20) consecutive calendar days. In such cases, employees will be laid off by seniority within classification and organizational unit.
Iowa
Department of Administrative Services Subrule 60.3(1):
A layoff shall be required whenever the appointing
authority reduces the number of permanent merit system covered employees in a
class or the number of hours worked by permanent merit system covered employees
in a class except that the rules do not apply to a temporary reduction of less
than 20 consecutive calendar days.
B. Benefits
Health,
Dental, and Life Insurance – Health, life, and dental
insurance coverages and the State's premium contribution for these insurances
will not be directly affected. The employee's full share of the premium,
however, must be paid despite the reduction in work hours or insurance coverage
will be discontinued. Therefore, if an employee's pay during the period is not
enough to cover the employee's share of the premium, the employee must submit
payment for the employee's share.
Vacation and
Sick Leave Accruals – During a temporary layoff,
employees will continue to accrue sick leave and annual leave. Temporary layoff
will not affect sick leave to vacation conversion.
POR - Peace
Officers' Retirement, Accident and Disability System – POR benefits should not be affected since retirements
are calculated on the "earnable compensation" for the position rather
than the actual pay of the member.
Federal
Withholding, State Withholding, FICA, Long Term Disability – The amounts deducted from the employee's pay in each of
these categories will be adjusted each pay period based on the salary earned.
Garnishments – Deductions will be adjusted according to salary
earned.
Child
Support – Court ordered child support payments may be adjusted
only as permitted by a subsequent court order.
Deferred
Compensation
– Employees receiving pay may choose to
terminate or adjust their deferred compensation deduction for a specified
period of time. If an employee decides to terminate deferred compensation
contributions, he or she may restart at any time. Appropriate change request
forms are available from each Personnel Assistant. If an employee suffers a
financial hardship due to an unforeseeable emergency (such as an unplanned loss
of wages), the employee may be eligible to receive a hardship distribution of
the employee contribution (457) plan. An
employee who hasn’t contributed to the program for two or more years and whose
account balance is under $5,000 may receive a cash-out of the employee’s
account.
Health and
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts – If
the employee receives enough pay to make the FSA contribution, the contribution
will continue and the employee will receive coverage if the employee has
eligible expenses. If the employee does not receive enough pay to make the FSA
contribution, coverage will continue and the contribution will be increased the
next pay period to make up for lost contributions.
Employee
Organization Insurance – The entire premium must be paid
for these insurances to remain in effect. If there is not enough salary to
cover these expenses through payroll deduction, the employee must pay the
insurance company directly for the remaining amount.
Employee
Organization Dues – Dues will be taken out as usual
provided there are sufficient wages to cover the amount.
Bonds,
Credit Union, and Charitable Contributions – Employees
may change the amount of their deductions each pay period if they choose. If,
however, deductions are being made for a loan repayment, the credit union must
be contacted before any change is made.
Order of
Deductions
– Payroll deductions are taken in the
following order. Some are fixed while others may be adjusted by the employee
according to applicable rules and regulations:
1.
FICA
2.
Federal
Withholding
3.
State Withholding
4.
Retirement
5.
Travel Code
(deductions for individuals who have permanent travel advances)
6.
Wage Assignment
7.
Garnishments
8.
Extra Federal
Withholding
9.
10.
Health Insurance
11.
Dental Insurance
12.
Group Life
Insurance
13.
Flexible Spending
Account - Health
14.
Flexible Spending
Account – Dependent Care
15.
Long Term
Disability (no employee share/state share only)
16.
Employee
Organization Insurance
17.
Employee
Organization Dues
18.
Regular
Maintenance (deduction from net pay after same amount is processed as a taxable
benefit)
19.
Miscellaneous
Deduction (deduction from net pay for a repayment other than wages)
20.
Annuity/Deferred
Compensation
21.
22.
Charitable
Contribution 1
23.
Charitable
Contribution 2
24.
Charitable
Contribution 3
25.
Charitable
Contribution 4
26.
Miscellaneous
Insurance / dues 1
27.
Miscellaneous
Insurance / dues 2
28.
Miscellaneous
Insurance / dues 3
29.
Miscellaneous
Insurance / dues 4
30.
Miscellaneous
Insurance / dues 5
1. A supervisor may not enter into an agreement with an employee to allow the temporary layoff to be taken in a continuous block in exchange for the employee agreeing not to file for unemployment. Iowa Code section 96.15 strictly prohibits entering into an agreement with an employee to waive rights to unemployment compensation. Also, temporary layoff plans should be designed to minimize unemployment expenses to the State.
2. If the temporary layoff does not exceed one day per work week, employees generally should not become eligible for unemployment benefits.
1. Contract covered employees may not take more temporary layoff than required of other employees similarly situated. Management, however, may consider individual requests for leave without pay just as they would at any other time.
2. Employees may not volunteer for layoff in lieu of other employees taking temporary layoff because a permanent layoff is not being implemented, only a temporary one.
3. Contract covered employees may not choose when to be temporarily laid off. Non-contract employees may be given flexibility in deciding when to take the temporary layoff time subject to the approval of management.
1. In the event that vacation requests conflict with temporary layoff, vacation requests for non-contract covered employees may be denied. For contract covered employees, Article IX of the collective bargaining agreements must be followed.
Scheduled vacations can be cancelled for non-contract covered employees if the temporary layoff date(s) conflicts with a scheduled vacation date(s). For contract covered employees, refer to Article IX of the applicable collective bargaining agreement regarding cancellation of vacation.
If a scheduled vacation is cancelled and the employee
is at the maximum accrual, the employee can take the vacation at a later time.
They will not, however, earn additional vacation until they get below the vacation
accrual ceiling.
2. Employees on sick leave or other paid leaves will not be exempt from temporary layoff. An employee supplementing Workers' Compensation with sick leave or vacation will be temporarily laid off in the same manner as any other employee utilizing paid leave time on a basis proportionate to the amount being supplemented.
3. Employees may not take vacation, compensatory leave or any other type of paid leave in lieu of temporary layoff. In addition to getting compensatory leave "off the books", or paying it off at the end of the fiscal year, employees must also take their unpaid temporary layoff time. (Employees, however, may request to cash out compensatory time and that request must be honored under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.)
4. Employees will not be temporarily laid off on the day of a holiday, or the first work day before or first work day following a holiday.
1. Job shared positions will be subject to temporary layoff if in an affected class and work unit.
2. Contract-covered employees on temporary layoff may not work even if they want to stay current with their workload. The contracts, the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) require that employees be paid for hours worked.
3. Non-contract overtime exempt employees lose their exemption during the time of the temporary layoff and must be paid for all hours worked including time and one-half for all hours worked after 40 hours in the work week.
4. Temporary layoff provisions will be implemented in accordance with the applicable bargaining agreement for contract covered employees.