Staff Reduction 14.01 In the event of a layoff, the Employer shall give the employee(s) affected the required notice under the Employment Standards Act and will give as much additional notice to the Union that is reasonably possible in all of the circumstances.
14.02 Part-time and probationary employees shall be laid off first provided there are sufficient qualified employees with seniority who are able to do the required work. In the event there is a requirement for further reductions in staff, employees shall be laid off in inverse order of company seniority, provided the remaining employees are qualified and able to perform the required work. An employee whose position is abolished or who is displaced shall be entitled to exercise his/her company seniority rights and displace the most junior employee in the bargaining unit, provided he/she is either qualified to do the required work or can be qualified with minimal training.
14.03 When an employee is laid off, the employee will immediately register his/her name with the Employer in order that he/she may be notified of any work available. Laid off employees will, if qualified and able to perform the required work, be returned to work in order of company seniority when staff covered by this Agreement is increased, or vacancies occur.
(a) An Employee who is unemployed at the time of a recall must report for duty within forty-eight (48) hours of being contracted unless the employee can provide a valid and satisfactory reason to the Employer for not doing so.
(b) An employee who is employed at the time of recall must report for duty or give a satisfactory reason to the Employer for not doing so within eight (8) days from the date of mailing the notification to report by registered mail to the employee’s last known address.
(c) It shall be the employee’s responsibility to keep the Employer notified of his/her current telephone number as well as his address so that they will be up to date at all times.
(d) In the event an employee does not report or provide a satisfactory reason for failing to do so under (a) or (b) above, the employee shall forfeit his/her seniority rights under this Agreement and his/her employment shall be deemed to be terminated.
REDUCTION IN STAFF SENIORITY
1. Probationary and non-degree teachers will be laid off first. This is provided that qualified tenure teachers are available.
2. No teacher shall be discharged or laid off pursuant to a necessary reduction in personnel unless he/she has written notification of said action.
3. During any period when the number of the teaching staff is reduced, the Board will not hire a new teacher to replace an incumbent teacher who is qualified and available to fill an available teaching position.
4. The Board will use its efforts to assist all released teachers to secure employment in other school districts.
5. The Board shall provide notice of layoff to the Association and the individuals involved no later than the third (3rd) Friday in May for the subsequent school year. The Board shall give not less than sixty (60) days’ notice of layoff to the Association and the individuals involved for the current school year.
6. If it becomes necessary to lay off tenure teachers, the following factors shall be used:
a. If the teacher is fully certified by the State of Michigan and has a major or minor in the teaching field (based upon total semester hours earned), seniority in the Rockford Schools shall prevail.
b. In the event a teacher is properly certified in a teaching field, and has fifteen (15) or more hours in that field but lacks the necessary requirements to be highly qualified, they shall have one (1) year to complete the necessary requirements, if approved by the State of Michigan
1) Seniority is defined as length of unbroken service within the bargaining unit and shall be computed from the bargaining unit member’s initial date of hire. Seniority date shall be determined by the date said teacher contract was signed, given approval by the Board of Education. If necessary, ties in seniority will be broken by drawing lots with the Association President present.
2) A seniority list shall be published by the District by October 15 of each school year. A copy of the seniority list and subsequent revisions and updates, if made, shall be forwarded to the Association and the building representatives.
3) Time spent on unpaid leave, for one semester or more, shall not be construed as a break in continuous service. However, the time spent on that leave would be deducted from the initial date of hire on the seniority list. Seniority will be lost if on unpaid leave or layoff for three years, unless mutually extended in writing by the District and the Association.
4) No person other than a member of the bargaining unit shall possess, retain or accrue seniority within the bargaining unit.
5) Members who transfer to a non-bargaining unit position shall retain only that seniority accrued while members of the bargaining unit.
6) Involuntarily reduced assignments shall count as if the service were at the full teaching load and will count as full-time seniority. Voluntary reduced assignments shall count only for the time spent on the job and shall receive the pro rata amount toward their seniority.
d. Approved leaves do not break or extend seniority.
e. In the event two (2) or more tenure teachers have the identical qualifications and certifications, the following factors shall weigh equally in the final determination:
1. Highest degree held;
2. Seniority in department or teaching field;
3. Teaching competence;
4. Number of years since teaching in his/her field.
7. If such teacher reductions are necessary, the Association shall be asked for recommendations using the aforementioned criteria (No. 6).
8. If any such teachers desire to be reemployed when future vacancies occur, they shall keep the Board advised of his/her current address and telephone number.
9. Procedure for recall shall be as follows:
a. Seniority tenure teachers will be recalled in inverse order of layoff for positions for which they are certified and qualified as determined by number six (6).
10. It is understood and agreed that provisions hereof with respect to staff reduction shall in no way be construed as a waiver of rights otherwise available under the Tenure Act without specifications or agreement as to what such rights may be.
11. Any teacher recalled to work from layoff shall be entitled to at least two (2) weeks written notice delivered to his/her last known address prior to being required to report to work. If such a teacher is given more than two (2) weeks notice, he/she shall be required to reply in writing within the two (2) weeks, agreeing to report to work at the date requested. If a recalled teacher refuses or fails to reply and/or report to work within the two (2) week time requirement, such teacher shall be considered as a voluntary “quit” and shall thereby terminate any employment relationship with the Board. Any teacher recalled to work from layoff shall be entitled to at least two (2) weeks notice delivered to his/her last known address by certified mail, return receipt requested prior to being required to report to work. It is expressly understood and agreed by both the Board and the Association that the beginning of the two (2) week requirement shall begin only after the teacher signs the return receipt.
12. The refusal of a current full-time properly certified and qualified tenure person of a part-time position shall not remove the individual from the recall list. This provision shall not invalidate any other section or article of this Agreement.
Reallocation of Participations to Reduce Fronting Exposure All or any part of such Defaulting Lender’s participation in L/C Obligations and Swingline Loans shall be reallocated among the Non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Revolving Credit Commitment Percentages (calculated without regard to such Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment) but only to the extent that (x) the conditions set forth in Section 6.2 are satisfied at the time of such reallocation (and, unless the Borrower shall have otherwise notified the Administrative Agent at such time, the Borrower shall be deemed to have represented and warranted that such conditions are satisfied at such time), and (y) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure of any Non-Defaulting Lender to exceed such Non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment. No reallocation hereunder shall constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder against a Defaulting Lender arising from that Lender having become a Defaulting Lender, including any claim of a Non-Defaulting Lender as a result of such Non-Defaulting Lender’s increased exposure following such reallocation.
REDUCTION IN FORCE (RIF 13.1 This Section 13 shall apply to all Covered Employees.
13.2 As provided in state law and Board policy, the Board may cancel the employment contracts of Covered Employees when there is a justifiable decrease in the number of covered employee positions as a result of a fiscal exigency or program change as determined by the Board. However, before any meeting of the Board at which the Board will consider a proposed resolution or decision that a fiscal exigency exists or a program change is to be made that may require the cancellation of the employment contract of one or more Covered Employees, the Superintendent shall convene a meeting of the Professional Council established pursuant to Section 7 above to consult regarding the nature and extent of the fiscal exigency or proposed program change, and regarding any plan then contemplated by the administration for reduction of covered employee positions.
13.3 If the Board decides that the number of covered employee positions is to be reduced, normal attrition, retirement, and resignations shall be considered prior to any cancellation of Covered Employee employment contracts. In the event that cancellation of Covered Employee employment contracts is necessary to achieve the reduction required by the Board, the following shall be considered as significant factors in determining which particular employment contracts will be recommended for cancellation:
13.3.1 The needs of the district.
13.3.2 The best interest of the students enrolled in the district.
13.3.3 Education, licensing endorsements and other professional qualifications.
13.3.4 Job performance over the previous three year period as measured using the criteria and standards set by the Board for evaluation of Teachers and Counselors in accordance with applicable state law and state board of education rules governing evaluation of licensed personnel.
13.4 The probationary or non-probationary status of a Covered Employee, and the seniority of a Covered Employee, shall also be considered as additional factors in determining which employment contracts will be recommended for cancellation as a result of the decrease in covered employee positions, except that such additional factors may be considered only after the consideration of the factors set forth in the Paragraph 13.3 above, and only if consideration of such additional factors is in the best interest of the students enrolled in the district. The parties agree that such additional factors shall be applied as follows: (1) as between Covered Employees in the same endorsement area for whom the factors set forth subparagraph 13.3.1 to 13.3.4, above are not determinative as to whose employment contract should be cancelled, the Probationary I Covered Employees should be cancelled first, Probationary II Covered Employees second, and Probationary III Covered Employees third, before the employment contracts of Non-probationary Status Covered Employees are cancelled; and (2) as between Non-probationary Status Covered Employees in the same licensed and endorsement area for whom the factors set forth subparagraph 13.3.1 to 13.3.4, above are not determinative as to whose employment contract should be cancelled, the employment contracts of Non-probationary Status Covered Employees will be cancelled in the inverse order of seniority.
13.5 Covered Employees who have been subject to a RIF shall have the right to be recalled to a covered employee position, for which they are qualified, within the District for one (1) year from the date of RIF. Covered Employees shall be recalled in reverse order of RIF and previously accrued benefits shall be restored.
13.6 Probationary Covered Employees whose contracts will be canceled during, instead of at the end of, a school year; and Non-probationary Status Covered Employees whose contracts will be canceled either during, or at the end of, a school year, shall have a right to a hearing on the propriety of such cancellation in accordance with Board policy and regulations. If such a hearing is desired, the Covered Employee will request it in writing to the Board or Superintendent within ten (10) days after being notified of the proposed contract cancellation. If a hearing is requested, the Board will appoint an impartial hearing officer, who will specify the procedural rules to apply at such hearing. At the hearing, the Covered Employee may be represented by a person of the Covered Employee’s choice.
