Article 27
Reduction in Force or Transfer of Function
History

Section 1. General

a. This Article governs: (1) transfer of function; and (2) the separation, demotion, reassignment requiring displacement of another employee, or furlough for more than thirty (30) calendar days of bargaining unit employee(s) by reduction in force from their respective levels.
b. This Article concerns the impact and implementation of the Government-wide regulations on reduction in force (RIF), which may occur during the life of the Agreement, with respect to employees in the Local 12 bargaining unit.
Reductions in force will be accomplished in accordance with statutory requirements, Civil Service rules and regulations, and this Agreement.
c. Administrative assignment rights for excepted employees will, with respect to positions in the excepted service, be the same as the rights of competitive employees in the competitive service.

Section 2. Notification

a. Preliminary Notification to Local 12 of Reduction in Force or Transfer of Function

(1) When it is anticipated that transfer of function out of the commuting area or reduction in force affecting bargaining unit employee(s) will be necessary, Local 12 will be given preliminary notification in writing. This notification will be at least 120 calendar days in advance of the anticipated implementation date, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, and will include the following information:

(a) The reason for the reduction in force or transfer of function;
(b) The approximate number of employees who may be affected initially;
(c) The competitive areas and levels that may be involved initially in a reduction in force; and
(d) The anticipated effective date that action will be taken.

(2) At the time Local 12 receives its preliminary notification of an anticipated RIF, the Department will provide Local 12 with a list of all employees covered by the notice whose current annual ratings of record are overdue.

b. Notice to Employees

(1) Affected employees will be given a specific notice in writing no less than sixty (60) calendar days prior to the implementation date of a reduction in force or transfer of function out of the commuting area unless circumstances dictate otherwise as explained in paragraph (2) of this Subsection. The notice period begins the day after the employee receives the notice.
(2) When a reduction in force is caused by circumstances not reasonably foreseeable, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), at the request the of the Department, may authorize a notice period of less than sixty (60) days but at least thirty (30) full calendar days before the effective date of release.

Section 3. Retention Registers

a. At least two (2) workdays before the issuance of initial specific notices, Local 12 will be provided a copy of the annotated retention register(s) to be used to issue the specific notices. Amended or revised retention registers will be provided to Local 12 as soon as possible.
b. The retention register will include: (1) the employee's tenure group, competitive level, and original service date; (2) the ratings of record used to compute credit for performance; (3) the amount of credit for performance; and (4) the adjusted service date.
c. Employees and/or their designated representative will be permitted to review the retention register so that the employee may consider how the competitive level was constructed and how the relative standing of the employee was determined. This includes the right to review the complete retention registers for other positions that could affect the composition of the employee's competitive level, and the determination of the employee's assignment rights.
d. Employees' performance ratings of record due before the issuance due date of specific RIF notices will be submitted to the servicing Personnel Office in sufficient time for retention standing to be determined. The due date would ordinarily be no more than fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the issuance date of specific notices.
e. When employees affected by RIF are in the same competitive level with the same length of service, as augmented by performance credit, and the same subgroup, ties will be broken in the following order: (1) total DOL service; (2) length of service in the DOL Agency; and (3) time at the current grade level.

Section 4. Competitive Areas for Positions in the Bargaining Unit

a. Competitive areas for unit positions in the Department of Labor in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area are:

(1) Office of the Secretary
Immediate Office of the Secretary
Immediate Office of the Deputy Secretary
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy
(ASP)
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) Bureau of Labor-Management Relations and Cooperative Programs (BLMRCP)
Benefits Review Board (BRB)
DOL Academy
Employees' Compensation Appeals Board
(ECAB)
Executive Secretariat
Office of Administrative Appeals (OAA)
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ)
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
Office of Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization (OSDBU)
Veterans' Employment and Training Service
(VETS)
Wage Appeals Board (WAB)
Women's Bureau (WB)
(2) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
(3) Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
(4) Employment and Training Administration
(ETA)
(5) Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA)
(6) Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Administration and Management
(OASAM)
(7) Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
(8) Office of Labor-Management Standards
(OLMS)
(9) Office of the Solicitor (OSOL)
(10) Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
(PWBA)
(11) President's Committee on Employment of
People with Disabilities (PCEPD)

b. To the extent that organizational changes would alter the competitive areas as delineated in Section 4.a. above, the parties will meet to negotiate/redefine the competitive areas for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Section 5. Department of Labor Employee Placement Assistance

a. Policy
In making staffing adjustments resulting from program and organizational changes, it is the objective of the Department that all employees affected by displacement be placed in continuing positions for which they are qualified, in their own DOL Agency, other Agencies of the Department, or in suitable positions in other Federal Agencies. Where appropriate, affected employees will be offered retraining to enable them to qualify for continuing positions.
b. Personal Interview: Special Problems
The Department will give each affected employee a personal interview and will treat each as an individual to try to resolve special problems and to give special assistance including assistance in locating other appropriate employment.
c. Displaced Employee Assistance Program

(1) This program applies to all employees in the bargaining unit of the Department except those having temporary appointments and those falling in Group III under Part 351 of the OPM Regulations.
(2) Employees displaced by reduction in force will be assisted by the Department in finding other suitable positions as explained in this Article. This includes employees who are unable to accept assignment to another commuting area. Eligibility begins on the date the specific notice is issued and ends on the effective date of the reduction-in-force action.
(3) The procedures for assisting displaced employees are as follows:

(a) When an employee is released from his/her competitive level by RIF action, every effort will be made to place the employee in an appropriate position. A suitable position as used in this Section is one for which the employee is qualified and available at the same or lower grade from which the employee was displaced.
(b) When an employee is issued a specific RIF notice, the employee's name will be entered on the Displaced Employee List (DEP). The DEP is part of the automated Placement Assistance Sub-system (PASS) which is accessible to each DOL Personnel Office through the Personnel Management Information System (PERMIS).
(c) Identification of a suitable vacancy will first be made by the employee's own Agency.
(d) If no suitable placement can be made within the affected employee's Agency, placement will be explored in other DOL Agencies through PASS.
(e) If no suitable placement can be made in other DOL Agencies through the PASS, the matter will be referred to the DOL Placement Committee before the effective date of the action displacing the employee.
(f) The DOL Placement Committee will take positive efforts to try to place employees in other agencies in the Department.
(g) Local 12 will be informed of the decisions of the Placement Committee and of placements under the Displaced Employee Assistance Program.
(h) The Department will provide the following additional assistance to employees affected by reduction in force: information on the placement assistance programs available through OPM and State employment security offices; individual job counseling and referral; and stress and mental health counseling through the Employee Assistance Program. Within the constraints of time and budget, the Department will also provide: job testing, assessment, and evaluation; training on self-directed job search, resume preparation, and interviewing; and financial planning.

Section 6. Transfer of Function

Employees who have received notice of transfer outside DOL but within the commuting area, and who do not wish to transfer with the function, will be referred through PASS for consideration only, as described in

Section 5.c.(3) of this Article.

Section 7. Repromotion List

a. Career, career-conditional, and excepted employees not serving under time-limited appointment, will be entered on the repromotion list and given special consideration for repromotion when: (1) a vacancy occurs which will be filled by merit staffing competitive procedures; or (2) an excepted vacancy occurs that will be advertised internally. The employee must be qualified for the vacancy, it must be at the employee's former or an intervening grade, and it must be in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
b. Eligibility for referral begins on the effective date of the downgrade or when the employee's entitlement under the Displaced Employee Program ceases. It extends for a period not to exceed two (2) years, or until the employee has reached his/her former or retained grade, whichever occurs first, unless the employee declines a reasonable offer of a position. A reasonable offer means an offer in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area at the same grade from which the employee was downgraded. If an employee refuses a position at an intervening grade in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the employee will be removed from the repromotion list for that grade only.
c. Employees will be referred for consideration and will be interviewed within the constraints of time, budget, etc. Selection may be made of any eligible on the list.
d. If the employee is not selected from the repromotion list, and is later certified on a merit staffing certificate for the same position, the selecting official will provide a written explanation for nonselection.

Section 8. RIF Contract Coverage

During the term of the Agreement, all RIFs will be conducted in accordance with this Agreement and the Federal Personnel Manual (FPM). Nothing will waive the right of Local 12 to negotiate on the impact or implementation of any individual RIF with respect to matters not covered by this Agreement.