ARTICLE 15
Reductions in Force and Transfer of Functions
SECTION 1. Procedures.
A. Management will give the Union advance notice of any anticipated need for a reduction in force (RIF) (the term "RIF" will hereinafter include a transfer of function that involves geographical relocation of employees). Further, Management will provide the Union, upon request, with relevant information in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 7114(b)(4) , and Article 6, Section 1 of this Agreement.
B. Management shall provide written notification to the Union of a proposed RIF at the earliest possible date. The notice will include the reason for the RIF, the approximate number of employees who may be affected by the action, and the anticipated effective date that the action will be taken.
C. After the notice specified in Section 1.B. has been given, but before Management has submitted its input to a NOAA request to DOC for a RIF, Management and the Union agree to consult. This is not a bargaining session, but rather an exchange of ideas on how to avoid or minimize the RIF and how to select positions to be eliminated. Following the consultation, Management agrees to provide to the Union a copy of its input to the NOAA request for a RIF. Thereafter, Management will also provide to the Union a copy of the portion of the NOAA request pertinent to NOAA-GC, and copies of NOAA and DOC approvals of the request.
D. At the time a position abolishment list has been prepared, Management will give the Union the notice required by Article 11, Section 2.A . Management will also provide to the Union a copy of the position abolishment list when it has been approved.
E. Retention Standing.
(1) Before the issuance of specific RIF notices, the Union will be provided a copy of the annotated retention register(s) to be used to issue the notices. Amended registers will be provided to the Union as soon as they are prepared.
(2) The retention register will include: the employee's tenure group, competitive level, and original service date; and the adjusted service date.
(3) Employees and/or their designated representative(s) will be permitted to review the applicable retention register so that the employee may consider how the competitive level was constructed and how the relative standing of the employee was determined.
(4) Employees' performance ratings of record relevant to the issuance 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 15 calendar days prior to the issuance date of specific notices.
(5) When employees affected by RIF are in the same competitive level with the same length of service as computed under 5 C.F.R. 351.503 , as augmented by credit for performance under 5 C.F.R. 351.504 , and the same subgroup, ties will be broken in the following order: (1) length of service in NOAA-GC; (2) total NOAA service; and (3) time at the current grade level.
F. Management will give a specific notice in writing to employees who will be affected by a RIF, with a copy to the Union. This notice period will be no less than 60 calendar days prior to the implementation date of a RIF action except as provided in Section 1.G. below. The notice period begins the day after the employee receives the notice.
G. When a RIF is caused by circumstances that are not reasonably foreseeable, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) at the request of the Department may authorize a notice period of less than 60 days but at least 30 full calendar days before the effective date of release. The parties agree to be bound by the OPM decision.
H. Whenever possible and to the extent practicable, and before conducting a budget-driven RIF, Management will attempt to avoid the use of a RIF by exhausting other cost-saving methods, including attrition. Before conducting a budget-driven RIF, Management will conduct a cost study to determine if options other than a RIF are available to produce the necessary cost savings. A copy of the study will be provided to the Union.
SECTION 2. Use of Vacancies.
In the event that Management determines a RIF is necessary, Management will utilize vacancies to mitigate adverse effects on employees, as follows.
A. Management will maintain a current list of vacant positions in the bargaining unit nationwide. Management will use vacancies, to the maximum extent possible and practicable, to avoid or lessen the impact of the RIF within the affected competitive area at the onset of and during the RIF, by making job offers to an individual within the competitive area who is affected by position abolishment. Efforts will first be made to reassign an employee to a position within his or her competitive area.
B. If no reassignment option is available within the affected competitive area, efforts will be made to reassign the employee to a vacancy outside the competitive area. Costs of relocation will be paid under applicable government regulations. For an employee who has received a RIF notice but who has not yet been separated due to a RIF, costs for relocation will be paid in an amount not to exceed the severance pay to which the employee would otherwise have been entitled if that employee were separated by RIF.
C. An offeree of a vacant position may decline the offer without any prejudice to the employee's other RIF rights and options. An offer of a vacant position shall be held open for ten calendar days to allow the offeree time to evaluate the offer and accept or reject.
D. Management will make a reasonable effort to train an employee affected by a RIF, where necessary for reassignment in lieu of separation.
E. When Management decides to fill a vacancy in the bargaining unit (and the vacancy has not already been filled pursuant to subparagraphs A. or B.), it shall consider for the position any qualified employee who has been terminated in a RIF. Reemployment consideration for the employee separated by RIF will be provided for up to three years. To fulfill this obligation, Management will establish a reemployment priority list of employees separated because of a RIF. Insofar as possible, persons rehired from the reemployment priority list will be paid at the same grade and step as at the time of termination.
F. Management may waive non-mandatory OPM qualifications standards (if applicable) if the offer to a vacant position is in lieu of separation.
SECTION 3. Employment Placement Assistance.
A. It is Management's objective to offer employment placement assistance to employees adversely affected by RIFs. This includes employees who are unable to accept assignment to another commuting area. Eligibility for employment placement assistance begins on the date a specific RIF notice is issued, and, except for ongoing services specified below, ends on the effective date of the RIF action.
B. Management will maintain a file of resumés submitted by employees who have received RIF notices or who have been separated. The Servicing Human Resource Office will maintain a file of current vacancy announcements provided by other Federal government offices. Management will request the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Justice to provide announcements to these offices.
C. Employees who are separated due to RIF will have access to the bi-weekly publication "Federal Career Opportunities," published by Federal Research Service, Inc., through the NOAA Servicing Human Resources Office. If a separated employee who does not have access through an HRO so requests, NOAA-GC will purchase a one-year subscription for that employee.
D. Within the constraints of time and budget, NOAA will provide the following additional assistance to an employee who is affected by RIF: information on the placement assistance programs available through OPM; individual job counseling and referral; stress and mental health counseling through the Employee Assistance Program; job testing, assessment, and evaluation; training on self-directed job search, resume preparation, and interviewing; and financial planning.
E. Employees who receive a specific RIF notice shall be granted a reasonable amount of administrative leave to obtain information regarding unemployment benefits and/or to contact job placement and employment agencies and potential employers.
SECTION 4. Waiver.
During the term of this Agreement, all RIFs will be conducted in accordance with the Agreement and applicable regulations. Nothing will waive the right of the Union to negotiate on the impact or implementation of any individual RIF with respect to matters not specifically covered by this Agreement, except that a waiver may be made in a written document signed and dated by both parties that states that it is a waiver, and specifically describes the nature and extent of the waiver, and its legal basis.
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