Policy Title:  Reduction in Force

Policy Number:  3.19

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Purpose: Eastern Wyoming College strives to provide employees a stable and secure work environment.  However, it may be necessary under certain circumstances to eliminate multiple positions due to budgetary constraints, program reductions, reorganization or other business needs. This policy establishes a process to eliminate permanent full-time/benefitted and part-time positions in these circumstances. The reduction in force (RIF) policy shall be implemented only after the Board of Trustees have agreed by an affirmative vote with the College President’s recommendation, in consultation with the President’s Cabinet and other supervisors that conditions warrant such action. At that point the College President will implement reduction in force determinations. Applicability of this policy supersedes all other College policies related to employment.

Authority. When determining whether a Reduction in Force is necessary the President of Eastern Wyoming College, in consultation with the President Cabinet and other supervisors, will closely study and evaluate current and projected future funding, historic, current and projected future demand for courses, programs, or services and their related cost effectiveness, and future curriculum plans and needs.  If the College President, then determines that the best interests of the College may only be met by a reduction in force, the President, after securing Board of Trustees approval will implement a reduction in force (RIF) as outlined herein.

Implementation. Following an analysis of the College’s academic and business needs and organization structure, the following steps will be used to identify the positions that will be eliminated by a reduction in force.

  1. An analysis by the President and President’s Cabinet of the job functions and positions that any program or department needs going Said analysis will include input from work center supervisors to help determine what positions are non-essential and which positions may be eliminated. The duties of any position may be allocated to other positions of the same or lower classification.
  2. When there are multiple persons in a position that has been selected for elimination, the skills, qualifications/certifications, and length of EWC service of said individual employees will be Human Resources will assist in the review process, evaluate criteria and provide seniority validations.  The following factors described immediately below may be considered in this assessment:
    1. Skills and qualifications – special skills may be considered, as well as additional education, licensure and certification
    2. Length of employment – seniority is based on the College hire date and prorated for periods of part-time employment
  3. After the assessment, the EWC President, following final coordination with the Executive Administrators will determine the position(s) to be included in the reduction in force. The final positions decision rests with the EWC President.
  4. The Human Resources Office will assist in preparing the written notice for the affected employee(s) and confirm any severance pay and confirm any severance pay and benefits.

Compensation and Benefits.  The College will strive to ensure all employees whose position was selected for elimination by the RIF will receive at least thirty (30) days’ notices.  If the effective date of a RIF action results in the elimination of a position within sixty (60) calendar days of the employee’s receipt of the RIF written notice, the subsection regarding severance pay shall apply, but ONLY to benefitted employees in permanent positions (i.e., Administrator, Tenured Faculty, Professional, and Classified Staff).  Employees in at-will and interim positions (e.g., Non-tenured Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, Probationary Classified and Probationary Professional staff, etc.) are not eligible for severance pay.  At a minimum, all employees whose position was selected for elimination will receive a combination of severance pay and/or time notification equal to the equivalent of 30 calendar days/four work weeks/one month.

Employees whose employment is discontinued because of a RIF were selected to receive severance pay, shall receive an amount as identified below:

  1. Individuals employed by the College five (5) consecutive years or less will receive one (1) month’s wage /salary value.
  2. Individuals employed by the College more than five (5) consecutive years will receive two (2) month’s wage/salary value plus 0.5% of annual salary for each full year of benefitted College service not to exceed 10 years.

Eligible employees will receive severance pay as outlined above upon signing a Separation Agreement.  Severance pay will be provided not later than two weeks after the RIF action is effective, or earlier, either in a lump sum or periodic installments as decided by Eastern Wyoming College and as set forth in the Separation Agreement, less withholding for taxes.

Severance pay and health care supplement pay will not be paid if the employee accepts a different position with EWC within the period of time between when the employee was notified of the RIF action and when the RIF action takes effect.  After the employee ends their EWC employment, any unpaid severance pay will be discontinued if the former employee is reemployed with EWC.

Employer contributions to the retirement plan cease at the time of termination.  Other voluntary benefits, including long-term care, supplemental disability insurance may be continued on a self-pay basis by contacting the insurance carrier.  If the employee wants to continue health and dental insurance, it is the responsibility of the employee to apply for COBRA and pay the insurance premiums to continue coverage.

In accordance with policy, EWC will honor an approved tuition benefit request for the employee’s dependents during the remainder of the semester for which the student is currently enrolled.

Separation Agreement.  The College will prepare and provide a written Separation Agreement to the employee.  The Separation Agreement will allow the employee forty-five (45) calendar days from the date of receipt to consider the terms and conditions of the Agreement, including the provision for severance pay and the requirement for the employee’s release of claims.

The Separation Agreement will not be effective, and any severance pay will not be paid, unless the employee agrees to the terms of and signs the Separation Agreement during the 45-day period.  The signed Separation Agreement shall be given to Human Resources where it will be filed in the employee’s Personnel Folder.

Re-hire Procedures.  Rehiring of RIFed employees will be according to the following procedure:

  1. Rehiring RIFed employees shall occur within position Classifications and in order of seniority based-on employees’ benefitted date-of-hire. The proposed RIF re-hire individual must meet the employment-specific qualification requirements of the open position according to the approved Job However, RIFed employees with temporary status shall not have rehire rights.
  2. Rehiring rights of RIFed employees shall be limited to two years from the date of the layoff. RIFed employees must maintain a current email, mailing address and phone number with the Eastern Wyoming College Human Resources and must respond to the rehire employment offer within a 14-day period commencing with the deposit of the vacancy notice in the S. mail. The rehire employment offer shall be sent by certified mail.  Failure of employee to maintain current mailing address and phone number will constitute a waiver of rehire rights.
  3. RIFed employees must accept positions of comparable status or lose rehire rights. Comparable status shall mean: 1) equal monthly pay rate (unless a pay reduction for employees of the same classification has been implemented); 2) equal hours (within a five- hour weekly variance); and 3) similar position classification and contract year +/- one month. Qualified RIFed employees may apply for vacancies in positions provided all RIFed employees of the unit in which the vacancy exists have been rehired or have forfeited their rehire Rehired employees shall retain previous seniority rights.

 

Original Adoption Date: 3/3/92

Revision Date(s): 11/8/05(RF), 8/13/13(RF), 9/11/18, 6/17/21(RN)

Date reviewed, no change: