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Medical College of
Georgia Administrative Policies and Procedures
Office of Primary Responsibility: Human Resources Division
No. 1.4.35
Workforce Reduction
1.0 Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to set forth the guidelines under which a
reduction in workforce for employees in classified positions will be carried
out.
2.0 Policy
The Medical College of Georgia is committed to providing stable employment
but reserves the right to determine the appropriate staffing levels to meet
the mission of the institution. The Medical College may, in its sole
discretion, add positions or change positions where necessary to meet the
mission of the institution, and it may eliminate positions that are no
longer critical to the mission of the institution. Situations such as lack
of funding, lack of work, or reorganization may require a reduction in the
workforce. Departments making such reductions are responsible for retaining
the staff necessary to preserve MCG’s excellence as a health sciences
university.
Generally, a reduction in workforce may be implemented for reasons that
include the following:
- A budget reduction and/or funding changes;
- Programmatic changes that result in the elimination of or decrease in
services;
- Reorganization that results in a shifting of responsibilities or
elimination of certain tasks altogether;
- Business process improvements that change work to such an extent that
a position(s) is no longer required; and
- Other organizational changes that might prompt an adjustment to
staffing needs.
In an effort to avoid reducing positions due to budget cuts or funding
changes, MCG reserves the right to consider implementing a furlough or other
such program to achieve the necessary budget reduction.
The provisions of this policy are not to be used to remove an employee if
the sole cause is substandard performance, incompetence or misconduct.
The provisions of this policy do not apply to positions created to
support a particular grant or other sponsored project when such positions
are ended because the grant or other sponsored project ends according to the
terms of the contract or award.
Guidelines for effecting a reduction in the workforce:
- When a Unit Manager, Department Chair, Director, Dean, or Vice
President, hereafter referred to as “Administrator”, is faced with a
situation that he/she believes warrants a review of the workforce with the
potential for a workforce reduction, he/she will be expected to critically
review his/her department or unit and the circumstances prompting the
potential reduction. All efforts should be made to minimize or reduce
the extent to which positions will be eliminated. When position
elimination is the most appropriate way to address a budget, programmatic,
reorganization or other change, the Administrator will submit in writing
to his/her Supervisor or Senior Administrator, a justification for a
change.
- The Administrator will identify all potential positions that may be
affected by the change. Where possible, temporary positions and vacant
regular positions should be the first to be eliminated. If positions to
be eliminated are not vacant, the positions to be eliminated should be
directly related to the functions or process being abolished. When, in a
unit, multiple positions exist with the same title and essentially the
same duties and responsibilities, documented performance appraisals should
be used as the criteria for selecting the position(s) for elimination.
Employees receiving the lowest performance rating should be the first
outplaced. In the event that the documented performance ratings do not
differentiate between employees and positions being considered for
elimination, the last person hired should be the first person outplaced.
For purposes of this policy, the hire date is defined as the most recent
date of hire at MCG.
- If the positions eliminated via this policy are reestablished within
one year, the employees displaced should be notified of the
reestablishment and given an opportunity to apply for the positions. The
department must coordinate with Human Resources to ensure this
communication occurs.
3.0 Procedure
The individual Administrator develops a proposal for a reduction in
force. Such proposal should include:
- a justification for the change;
- a list of the employees who will be displaced by the reduction in
workforce including the employee’s name and job title;
- the date of the proposed position elimination (a minimum notice to the
employee of sixty (60) days is recommended, and ninety (90) days is
preferred);
- a completed departmental reduction in workforce checklist reflecting
the data and objective decision criteria supporting the proposed action.
- if multiple positions exist with the same title and essentially the
same duties and responsibilities in the department proposing the reduction
in workforce, then copies of the two most recent performance appraisals
for all the employees under the position title under consideration for
elimination must be included.
- the name and contact information of the person in the department who
will be responsible for communicating all information to those employees
being displaced.
It is strongly recommended that the Administrator meet with or
communicate with the Directors of Human Resources and Affirmative Action at
this point to review the proposal and seek input.
The proposal must then be submitted to the appropriate Dean, Vice
President or other Senior Administrator for review and approval.
If denied, the proposal is returned to the Department Head, Director or
Vice President submitting the request.
If approved, the Dean, Vice President or other Senior Administrator will
then forward the approved proposal with all documentation provided in the
proposal submitted to him/her to the Director of Human Resources or designee
for review and approval.
If approved, the Division of Human Resources Director will forward to the
Director of Affirmative Action for review and approval.
The Director of Human Resources and Director of Affirmative Action will
communicate the results of the review to the Dean, Vice President or other
Senior Administrator.
When the proposed reduction is in response to a state or institutional
budget cut, the Dean, Vice President or other Senior Administrator must
notify the President of the proposed workforce reduction prior to its
implementation.
If approved by all required parties, then communication with the affected
employee(s) must take place and will occur as follows:
- The Administrator will verbally inform the affected individual(s) of
the decision and the reasons underlying the decision. This should be done
in either a group meeting when more than one individual is affected, or in
an individual meeting at the discretion of the Unit Supervisor.
Outplacement packets containing information about other on-campus
positions should be provided to each affected employee. A representative
from Human Resources should participate in all meetings and be available
to answer placement questions.
- The Administrator will follow up in writing to the employee(s) to
ensure clear communication of what was stated verbally. The Administrator
will then complete a Personnel Action Request to communicate the action
taking place and forward to Human Resources.
Date: 28 March 2004 | Rev. No.: | Rev. Date:
| No. 1.4.35 |