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The Department is committed to mitigating the affect of State Hospital Position reductions. With attrition, other cost-cutting measures, and focused efforts to place employees in alternative positions, the Department hopes avoiding having layoffs altogether.
State Restriction of Appointment (SROA) and Surplus Status provide preferential hiring status to state employees potentially facing layoff; this means if you have SROA/Surplus status and you apply for a job opening in your classification, the recruiting department must hire you (or someone else with like SROA/Surplus or Reemployment status) before they hire anyone whose employment is not in jeopardy. This preferential hiring status is designed to help impacted employees find new positions.
On this page, we have included links to information from the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) which addresses the SROA and layoff process in general. The page also covers reemployment, which outlines your rights as a state employee, if you are laid off.
Basic Information on the Layoff Process in State Service:
The layoff process is very specific and has many protections built in to afford affected employees the best chance of finding alterative employment. The process, outlined by the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA), takes at least 4 to 6 months. No one receives “pink slips” (layoff notices) without prior notice. Please note that “position” and “person” are not the same. Although a position may be subject to elimination, it does not necessarily mean the person in that position will receive a layoff notice. There are guidelines outlined by DPA for layoff processes which include consideration of a person’s seniority (total time in state service – not time served in a particular position/classification).
This process includes:
- Identifying the areas of layoff, impacted classifications, surplus employees, and the development of demotional patterns.
- DPA approves the Department’s layoff plan, publishing the surplus classifications on its website.
- The Department computes seniority scores, completes SROA forms for affected employees and sends to the State Personnel Board, which results in their inclusion on the SROA list. SROA status gives priority hiring status to employees at risk of job loss. By policy, the Department must place three times the number of people targeted for layoff on the SROA and surplus list. So, if there are 300 impacted employees 900 people will be placed on the SROA and surplus list. Employees are placed on the SROA list for a minimum of 120 days, providing time for employees to seek and find alternate employment within the State system.
- DPA and DMH meet with unions to negotiate the impact of layoff.
- DMH provides notice to employees of their final seniority score.
- DMH issues layoff notices 30 days prior to the layoff effective date.
- If employees have not found a new position before the effective layoff date, they are placed on a “reemployment list,” giving them first priority and notification of the next open position within their classification.
Information from DPA:
Layoff Manual:
Reemployment
On this page, we will discuss reemployment, which is the process by which any employee who has been laid off or demoted-in-lieu of layoff can gain reinstatement to his/her former classification or equivalent level of employment.