Article 32
Reduction in Force or Transfer of Function

Section 1. General

a. The Department will adhere to all applicable Government-wide rules and regulations and the provisions in this Article in the administration of reduction in force or transfer of function.
b. This Article governs: (1) transfer of function; and (2) the separation, demotion, reassignment requiring displacement of another employee, or furlough for more than thirty (30) calendar days of bargaining unit employee(s) by reduction in force from their respective levels.
c. The parties agree that RIF’s will be handled in accordance with 5 CFR part 351. The determination of Competitive areas will be made in accordance with 5 CFR 351.402. The Notice to Union and employees regarding any RIF will include the Competitive area.
d. Administrative assignment rights for employees in the excepted service will be administered in accordance with 5 CFR 351.705(a)(3).

Section 2. Notification

a. Preliminary Notification to Local 12 of Reduction in Force or Transfer of Function

(1) When it is anticipated that transfer of function out of the commuting area or reduction in force affecting bargaining unit employee(s) will be necessary, Local 12 will be given preliminary notification in writing. This notification will be at least 120 calendar days in advance of the anticipated implementation date, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, and will include the following information:

(a) The reason for the reduction in force or transfer of function;
(b) The approximate number of employees who may be affected initially;
(c) The competitive areas and levels that may be involved initially in a reduction in force; and
(d) The anticipated effective date that action will be taken.

(2) At the time Local 12 receives its preliminary notification of an anticipated RIF, the Department will provide Local 12 with a list of all employees covered by the notice whose current annual ratings of record are overdue.

b. Notice to Employees

(1) Affected employees will be given a specific notice in writing no less than sixty (60) calendar days prior to the implementation date of a reduction in force or transfer of function out of the commuting area unless circumstances dictate otherwise as explained in paragraph (2) of this Subsection. The notice period begins the day after the employee receives the notice.
(2) When a reduction in force is caused by circumstances not reasonably foreseeable, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), at the request the of the Department, may authorize a notice period of less than sixty (60) days but at least thirty (30) full calendar days before the effective date of release.

Section 3. Retention Registers

a. At least two (2) workdays before the issuance of initial specific notices, Local 12 will be provided a copy of the annotated retention register(s) to be used to issue the specific notices. Amended or revised retention registers will be provided to Local 12 as soon as possible.
b. The retention register will include: (1) the employee's tenure group, competitive level, and service computation date; (2) the ratings of record used to compute credit for performance; (3) the amount of credit for performance; and (4) the adjusted service computation date.
c. After receipt of a specific notice, employees and/or their designated representative will be permitted to review the retention register so that the employee may consider how the competitive level was constructed and how the relative standing of the employee was determined. This includes the right to review the complete retention registers for other positions that could affect the composition of the employee’s competitive level, and the determination of the employee’s assignment rights.
d. Employees' performance ratings of record due before the issuance due date of specific RIF notices will be submitted to the servicing Human Resources Office in sufficient time for retention standing to be determined. The due date would ordinarily be no more than fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the issuance date of specific notices.
e. When employees affected by RIF are in the same competitive level with the same length of service, as augmented by performance credit, and the same subgroup, ties will be broken in the following order: (1) total DOL service; (2) length of service in the DOL Agency; and (3) time at the current grade level.

Section 4. Department of Labor Employee Placement Assistance for Reduction in Force or Transfer of Function

Placement assistance for either Reduction in Force or Transfer of Function shall be governed by 5 CFR 330 Subpart F.

Section 5. Repromotion List

a. Career, career-conditional, and excepted employees not serving under time-limited appointment, will be entered on the repromotion list and given special consideration for repromotion when: (1) a vacancy occurs which will be filled by merit staffing competitive procedures; or (2) an excepted vacancy occurs that will be advertised internally. The employee must be qualified for the vacancy, it must be at the employee's former or an intervening grade, and it must be in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
b. Eligibility for referral begins on the effective date of the downgrade or when the employee's entitlement under the Displaced Employee Program ceases. It extends for a period not to exceed two (2) years, or until the employee has reached his/her former or retained grade, whichever occurs first, unless the employee declines a reasonable offer of a position. A reasonable offer means an offer in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area at the same grade from which the employee was downgraded. If an employee refuses a position at an intervening grade in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the employee will be removed from the repromotion list for that grade only.
c. Employees will be referred for consideration and will be interviewed within the constraints of time, budget, etc. Selection may be made of any eligible on the list.
d. If the employee is not selected from the repromotion list, and is later certified on a merit staffing certificate for the same position, the selecting official will provide a written explanation for nonselection.

Section 6. RIF Contract Coverage

During the term of the Agreement, all RIFs will be conducted in accordance with this Agreement and the appropriate regulations. Nothing will waive the right of Local 12 to negotiate on the impact or implementation of any individual RIF with respect to matters not covered by this Agreement.