Home  >  Employment  >  Employee Questions & Answers Regarding Layoffs

1. What rights do I have to demote to a former class?

   If you hold permanent status in other classes within the department in which the layoff will occur, then you have the right to demote to the former class, if that department has positions in that classification. Your demotion may result in other employees with less seniority in that class to be laid off. This is known as "bumping."

2. What rights do I have to demote to a former class if I had a break in service?

   If you are laid off, you can reinstate to a lower class for which you are qualified. Reinstatement may take place only within three years of the effective date of your resignation from the County. By reinstating to a lower class, you will still remain on the re-employment list for the class that you were laid off from.

3. If I demote to my former class, what step will I be returned to?

   If you return to your former class following a demotion due to a layoff, you shall receive that step of the range which you would have achieved had you remained in the former class.

4. If I am being laid-off from a class and I hold permanent status in two different former classes which have the same salary within my current Department, do I have the right to select which of the two job classes I would demote to?

   No. Based on the County’s past practice under these circumstances, you have the right to demote to a class in which you formerly held permanent status and will be placed in to the class held immediately prior to your current class from which you are being laid-off.

5. What rights do I have as a temporary, provisional, or probationary employee?

   Unless you have held permanent status in another class within the department in which layoffs are occurring, all temporary and provisional employees must be separated from employment before any probationary or permanent employee is laid off. Prior to the layoff of any probationary or permanent employee, a permanent employee who is currently serving in a temporary position in that class must be separated and returned to the class in which he holds permanent status in that department. Probationary employees in an affected class are released from employment prior to permanent employees; the least senior are laid off first. If you have held permanent status in other classes in the department, then you may have the opportunity to demote to a former class if a position exists within the department. If you were hired from an eligible list and that eligible list is still active, you may request to have your name placed back on the list.

6. Will I be able to request a demotion to another County Department?

   Layoffs occur department by department. Seniority is by class within the department. An employee who is scheduled for layoff is entitled to request a demotion to another class in which the employee formerly held permanent status which is currently authorized in another department. However, this demotion is within the discretion of the appointing authority for the other department. There is no right to demote to another class in another department.

7. If I refuse to demote to a former class, what happens to me?

   If you refuse to demote to a former class in which you held permanent status in the department, then you will be laid off. Your name will be placed on the reemployment list and you will be eligible for certification from both the Departmental and County-wide Reemployment Lists for two years from the effective date of layoff. The timeframe may be different based on the labor agreement applicable to your class.