Article 6 Layoff and Reduction in Force

Article 6 Layoff and Reduction in Force

Section 6.1 General Principles

Each employee who is employed in the regular work force as of the date of the Award of Arbitrator James J. Healy, September 15, 1978, shall be protected henceforth against any involuntary layoff or force reduction.
1. It is the intent of this provision to provide security to each such employee during his or her work lifetime.
2. Members of the regular work force, as defined in Article 7 of the Agreement, include full-time regulars, part-time employees assigned to regular schedules and part-time employees assigned to flexible schedules.
1. Employees who become members of the regular work force after the date of this Award, September 15, 1978, shall be provided the same protection afforded under Section 6.1A1 above on completion of six years of continuous service and having worked in at least 20 pay periods during each of the six years.
2. With respect to employees hired into the regular work force after the date of this Award and who have not acquired the protection provided under Section 6.1B above, the Employer shall have the right to effect layoffs for lack of work or for other legitimate rea- sons. This right may be exercised in lieu of reassigning employees under the provisions of Article 12, except as such right may be modified by agreement. Should the exercise of the employer's right to lay off employees require the application of the provisions of Chapter 35 of Title 5, United States Code, employees covered by that Chapter with less than three years of continuous civilian federal service will be treated as "career conditional" employees.

The Employer's right as established in this section shall be effective July 20, 1979. The following terms as to the employees' and employer's rights and the rules and procedures to be followed in the implementation of Article 6 are a part of the September 15, 1978 Final Resolution and shall be final and binding upon the parties:

[See Memo, page 132]

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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ARTICLE 6 - LAYOFF PROTECTION

Each employee who is employed in the regular work force as of September 20, 2019, and who has not acquired the protection provided under Article 6 shall be protected henceforth against any involuntary layoff or force reduction during the term of this Agreement. It is the intent of this Memorandum of Understanding to provide job security to each such employee during the term of this Agreement; however, in the event Congress repeals or significantly relaxes the Private Express Statutes this Memorandum shall expire upon the enactment of such legislation. In addition, nothing in this Memorandum of Understanding shall diminish the rights of any bargaining-unit employees under Article 6. Since this Memorandum of Understanding is being entered into on a nonprecedential basis, it shall terminate for all purposes at, midnight September 20, 2022 and may not be cited or used in any subsequent dispute resolution proceedings.

Section 6.2 Coverage

1. Employees Protected Against Any Involuntary Layoff or Force Reduction Those employees who occupy full-time, part-time regular or part- time flexible positions in the regular work force (as defined in Article 7) on September 15, 1978, are protected against layoff and reduction in force during any period of employment in the regular work force with the United States Postal Service or successor organization in his or her lifetime. Such employees are referred to as "protected employees." Other employees achieve protected status under the provisions of Section 6.2C below.
2. Employees Subject to Involuntary Layoff or Force Reduction Except as provided in Sections 6.2A and 6.2C, all employees who enter the regular work force, whether by hire, transfer, demotion, reassignment, reinstatement, and reemployment on or after September 16, 1978, are subject to layoff or force reduction and are referred to as "non-protected employees."
3. Non-Protected Employees Achieving Protected Status
1. A non-protected employee achieves protected status upon completion of six years of continuous service in the regular work force. The service requirement is computed from the first day of the pay period in which the employee enters the regular work force. To receive credit for the year, the employee must work at least one hour or receive a call-in guarantee in lieu of work in at least 20 of the 26 pay periods during that anniversary year. Absence from actual duty for any of the following reasons will be considered as "work" solely for the purposes of this requirement:

To the extent required by law, court leave, time spent in military service covered by Chapter 43 of Title 38, or time spent on continuation of pay, leave without pay or on OWCP rolls because of compensable injury on duty.

Time spent on paid annual leave or sick leave, as provided for in Article 10 of the Agreement.

Leave without pay for performing Union business as provided for in Article 24 of the Agreement.

All other unpaid leave and periods of suspension or time spent in layoff or RIF status will not be considered work. Failure to meet the 20 pay period requirement in any given anniversary year means the employee must begin a new six year continuous service period to achieve protected status.

1. Temporary details outside of the regular work force in which the employee's position of record remains in the regular work force count toward fulfilling the 20 pay periods of work requirement per year.
2. If a non-protected employee leaves the regular work force for a position outside the Postal Service and remains there more than 30 calendar days, upon return the employee begins a new service period for purposes of attaining six years continuous service.
3. If a non-protected employee leaves the regular work force and returns within two years from a position within the Postal Service the employee will receive credit for previously completed full anniversary years, for purposes of attaining the six years continuous service.

Section 6.3 Preconditions for Implementation of Layoff and Reduction in Force

1. The Union shall be notified at its Regional level no less than 90 days in advance of any layoff or reduction in force that an excess of employees exists or will exist at an installation and that a layoff and reduction in force may be necessary. The Employer will ex- plain to the Union the basis for its conclusion that legitimate business reasons require the excessing and possible separation of employees.
2. No employee shall be reassigned under this Article or laid off or reduced in force unless and until that employee has been notified at least 60 days in advance that he or she may be affected by one or the other of these actions.
3. The maximum number of excess employees within an installation shall be determined by seniority unit within each category of employees (full-time, part-time regular, part-time flexible). This number determined by the Employer will be given to the Union at the time of the 90-day notice.
4. Before implementation of reassignment under this Article or, if necessary, layoff and reduction in force of excess employees within the installation, the Employer will, to the fullest extent possible, minimize the amount of overtime work, minimize the hours of Mail Handler Assistants, and minimize part-time flexible hours in the positions or group of positions covered by the seniority unit as defined in this Agreement or as agreed to by the parties. In addition, the Employer shall solicit volunteers from among employees in the same craft within the installation to terminate their employment with the Employer. Employees who elect to terminate their employment will receive a lump sum severance payment in the amount provided by Part 435 of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual, will receive benefit coverage to the extent provided by such Manual, and, if eligible, will be given the early retirement benefits provided by Section 8336(d)(2) of Title 5, United States Code and the regulations implementing that statute.
5. No less than 20 days prior to effecting a layoff, the Employer will post a list of all vacancies in other seniority units and crafts at the same or lower level which exist within the installation and within the commuting area of the losing installation. Employees in an affected seniority unit may, within 10 days after the posting, re- quest a reassignment under this Article to a posted vacancy. Qualified employees will be assigned to such vacancies on the basis of seniority. If a senior non-preference eligible employee within the seniority unit indicates no interest in an available reassignment, then such employee becomes exposed to layoff. A preference eligible employee within the seniority unit shall be re- quired to accept such a reassignment to a vacancy in the same level at the installation, or, if none exists at the installation, to a vacancy in the same level at an installation within the commuting area of the losing installation. If the reassignment is to a different craft, the employee's seniority in the new craft shall be established in accordance with the applicable seniority provisions of the new craft.

Section 6.4 Section 6.5 Section 6.6 Section 6.7