Know Your Rights: Layoff protections

Updated Feb. 3, 2010
State employees have numerous contract rights that may protect them from, or lessen the impact of, a layoff notice.

60, 30 and 120-day notices

• Each department must notify Local 1000 a minimum of 60 days prior to its intended date of layoffs and must, at minimum, meet and confer with the union over possible alternatives that could reduce or eliminate employee layoffs.
• Employees who are being laid off will receive an actual layoff notice a minimum of 30 days prior to the effective date of the layoff.
• Each department is required to send notices of potential layoffs (also called SROA letters) to at least three times the number of employees it anticipates having to layoff; these notices must go out a minimum of 120 days prior to layoffs being effective.

Preferential consideration for vacancies

• Employees receiving notices of potential layoffs (SROA letters) are given preferential consideration for vacant positions, for which they meet the minimum qualifications, in all state departments; this, however, is not a job guarantee.
• No 30-day layoff notice can be effective until the employee has been in receipt of a notice of potential layoff (SROA letter) for at least 90 days.

‘Bumping’ rights for laid-off employees

• Employees have primary demotional rights to lower classes in their class of layoff, whether or not they served in the classes. They must, of course, have sufficient seniority to “stick” in one of the classes.
• In addition, employees have personal demotional rights to classes in other series in which they served if the layoff department uses the classes in the area of layoff and the employee has sufficient seniority to “stick.”
• Any employee who is displaced by a laid off employee shall have the same rights as described above.

If you have received a layoff notice from your department, contact your job steward or the Local 1000 Resource Center at 866.471.SEIU (7348).