University Staff Layoff Policy and Procedures

To provide UWM with operational practices for implementing the layoff of a University Staff employee or employees for reasons of budget or due to the discontinuance, curtailment, modification or reduction of a program or programs.

Wis. Stat. § 36.115(2) requires the Board of Regents to develop personnel systems that are separate and distinct from the personnel system under Wis. Stat. Chapter 230. Effective July 1, 2015, the layoff procedures contained in Chapter ER-MRS 22 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code and the procedures established by the Office of State Employment Relations are no longer applicable to current UW System University Staff employees. Therefore, this policy and these procedures provide the framework for layoff of University Staff employee(s) that hold positions with an expectation of continued employment at UWM.

Layoff procedures for faculty and academic staff are set forth in Wis. Admin. Code Chapters UWS 5 and UWS 12; UWM Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 5 and UWM Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures, Chapter 110.

For group health insurance purposes, an employee separated due to layoff will be treated as if on a leave of absence according to Wis. Stat. §§ 40.02(40) and 40.05(4)(bm).

Layoff means separation from employment for reasons of budget or due to the discontinuance, curtailment, modification, or reduction of a program.

Layoff Group means a combined group of employees in related positions from which the layoff will be made. The layoff group will generally include all employees employed in a particular operational area that are similarly, although not necessarily identically, situated by title, pay range and/or function.

Operational Area means an area of focus or function in a school, college, division, department, or office. An operational area will generally be a subset of a school, college, division, department, or office, and need not encompass the whole unit.

Probationary Period means the initial period of employment in an appointment during which the employee has no right to appeal discharge as identified in the employee’s appointment letter.

Temporary Employment means employment in a University Staff temporary or project appointment.

University Staff Layoff Committee is a 5-person committee of the University Staff Senate. Membership of this committee includes one senator with knowledge of the operational area affected by the proposed layoff action. This senator is selected jointly by the committee chair and the Associate Vice Chancellor (“AVC”) for Human Resources.

This policy shall apply in the event of a contemplated layoff of a University Staff employee that otherwise holds a position with an expectation of continued employment. It does not apply to furloughs, seasonal layoff of seasonal employees; academic year employees during recesses in the academic year or summer session, or temporary employees.

Budget or program decisions that may result in the layoff of University Staff members shall be detailed in a plan and shared with the Chair of the University Staff Senate prior to the employee(s) being issued “at risk” notice(s). Within five working days of the receipt of such notice, the chair may request that the Vice Chancellor or their designee(s) discuss the plan with the University Staff Layoff Committee.

(The discussion portion of this policy will be in effect through the FY 2020-21, at which time both parties will evaluate whether to continue such practice.)

The discussion, to be held in closed session and scheduled within five working days of the chair’s request, will review the proposed layoff plan, determine viable alternatives to layoff or other budget reduction strategies, and to assure that all applicable policies have been met.

This discussion shall include specific information about the school/college/division affected as well as job series and titles so that other alternatives may be considered and/or proper “at risk” periods and mandated release of temporary staff may be determined. Every effort will be made to ensure confidentiality during and following this discussion.

Employees subject to layoff will be determined and evaluated by using the following criteria:

• The needs of UWM to deliver services and programs;
• The relative skills, knowledge, or expertise of employees;
• The length of service of employees; and
• Other appropriate criteria.

Once the layoff group has been determined, any employee from within the affected layoff group may elect to retire or to be laid off voluntarily to avoid involuntary layoffs.

The employer reserves the right to rescind a layoff notice and/or postpone the layoff date. However, once the employee has been officially notified of the intended layoff date, the employer may not make the layoff date any earlier, unless otherwise agreed to by the employee.

Whenever practicable, employees in temporary or project appointments in the operational area shall be reduced or released before invoking the layoff procedures. Employees in a probationary period may be dismissed prior to laying off non-probationary employees, providing that those remaining employees have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the work.

A University Staff member who is designated for layoff must be given written notice of being At Risk of Layoff as soon as possible in advance of the official notice of layoff. The expectation for the minimum length of the At Risk notice period shall be as follows, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary (e.g. almost immediate cutoff of funds):

The At Risk notice shall be provided to the employee with a copy to the University Staff Committee. An employee who is designated At Risk has the right to meet with the employer upon request, to discuss the School, College, Department or Division’s Layoff Plan and decision to eliminate the position(s).

The official notice of layoff shall be given not less than 30 calendar days prior to the effective date of the layoff and shall to the extent practicable include specific available job alternatives within UWM.

At any time during the notification of layoff period and with mutual agreement of the employee and appointing authority, a lateral movement or demotion to a different position within UWM may be made outside of a recruitment process.

Upon an employer’s official notification of layoff to an employee, the employee may appeal the layoff decision through the appropriate grievance procedure. It should be noted that under UW System Administrative Policy SYS 1233, the grievance for a layoff begins at Step One and does not go beyond Step Two.

An employee may be moved to another position regardless of being designated in layoff status. The employee shall receive written notice as to why he or she is being moved. Involuntary employee movements are not meant to circumvent the recruitment process and should only be used to avoid a separation from UWM due to layoff.

The employee may choose not to accept the involuntary reassignment and as a result be separated from UWM. If the employee accepts the involuntary reassignment, the employee’s rate of pay and applicable benefits will not decrease if the movement is lateral; however, the rate of pay may be adjusted downward with a demotion.

In accordance with the hiring authority’s requirements, a UWM employee who is or will be subject to layoff shall be considered for vacancies he or she applies for at UWM. Such consideration guarantees an interview for positions under which the employee meets the required qualifications but does not guarantee a mandatory job offer.

Every effort will be made to maintain active positions for employees so long as this effort does not adversely affect the operational area’s budget or impede the area’s ability to fulfill its mission.

An employee who is or will be subject to layoff may request, in accordance with the hiring authority’s requirements, to be considered for other vacancies at other institutions in the UW System. Such consideration does not guarantee an interview or mandatory job offer.

Employees that have been separated from UWM due to layoff may apply for vacancies in the same manner as current employees for three (3) years from the effective date of the layoff. An employee that is made a reasonable offer of reappointment to a position with an expectation of continued employment has five (5) working days of the offer to accept. An employee who upon acceptance fails to be available for work within five (5) working days after a reasonable offer is made forfeits the position, unless a different start date is mutually agreed upon.

For three years from the anniversary of the layoff, no person may be hired in a position with an expectation of continued employment in that operational area to perform duties reasonably comparable to the duties of the laid off employee, without first making an offer of return to the laid off employee.

An employee’s failure to accept such an offer of return shall terminate the employee’s rights under this section.

Employees enrolled in State Group Health Insurance at the time of layoff are eligible to continue coverage under the group plan following the layoff date. The employee’s coverage will continue through the month in which premiums are paid. The employer contribution towards the health insurance premium will be paid for an additional three months. The employee must pay his or her share of the health insurance premium during these months to maintain coverage.

The employee may pay the premium through payroll deduction, personal check, or converted sick leave credits.

UWM employees that separate due to layoff are eligible for the conversion of their sick leave credits to pay for State Group Health Insurance provided eligibility requirements are met under the Accumulated Sick Leave Conversion Credit (ASLCC) and Supplemental Health Insurance Conversion Credit (SHICC) programs as outlined in Wis. Stat. §§ 40.05(4)(b) and 40.95.

Health insurance premiums are paid from sick leave credits until the earliest of the following events:

1. The credits are exhausted;
2. The first of the month following the begin date of other employment offering comparable health insurance coverage;
3. Five years have elapsed from the date of layoff (no time restriction if the employee has over 20 years of WRS creditable service at time of layoff); or
4. The employee’s death. If the employee dies, the employee’s surviving spouse/domestic partner and dependents can continue to use remaining sick leave credits to pay for health insurance.

Coverage under all other benefit plans ends according to the normal termination rules of the respective plan.