1. This article governs:



1. 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; and



2. Transfers of function, when applicable, and in accordance with Article 40 Transfer of Function.



2. This article concerns the impact and implementation of the government-wide regulations on reduction in force (RI F), which may occur during the life of the Agreement, with respect to employees in the Local 2419 bargaining unit. It is the sole procedure to be used in implementing reduction in force and transfer of function which effect bargaining unit employees. Reductions in force will be accomplished in accordance with statutory requirement, civil service rules and regulations, and this Agreement.



3. No reduction in force action may be taken until every position in the affected competitive area is assigned to a competitive level.

Section 2. Notification

1. Preliminary Notification to Local 2419 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 a unit employee(s) will be necessary, Local 2419 will be given preliminary notification in writing. This notification will be given as soon as practicable, but no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, after the determination by management that a RIF or TOF is necessary.



1. The reason for the reduction in force or transfer of function;



2. The approximate number of employees who may be affected initially;



3. The competitive areas and level that may be involved initially in a reduction in force; and



4. The anticipated effective date that action will be taken.



2. The Union may submit a request to bargain on the Impact and Implementation on all issues not covered by this agreement relevant to RIF and TOF.



2. 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. The notice will advise employees that they should update their Official Personnel File (OPF) to ensure that their current experience, training, and qualifications are accurate.



3. When a reduction in force is caused by circumstances not reasonably foreseeable, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), at the request of the Agency, may authorize a notice period of less than sixty (60) days before the effective date of release.

Section 3. Retention Registers

1. At least two (2) workdays before the issuance of initial specific notices, Local 2419 will be provided a copy of the annotated retention register(s) to be used to issue specific notices. Amended or revised retention registers will be provided to Local 2419 as soon as possible.



2. The retention register will include:



1. The employee's tenure group, competitive level, and original service date;



2. The ratings of record used to compute credit for performance;



3. The amount of credit for performance; and



4. The adjusted service date.



3. 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.



4. Employees' performance ratings of record, due prior to the issuance of specific RIF notices, will be submitted to the servicing personnel 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.



5. 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. Time in grade; and if a tie remains;



2. Length of time in the Bargaining Unit; and if a tie remains;



3. Length of service at the National Institutes of Health.



6. Employees service computation dates for RIF purposes shall be adjusted for performance in accordance with government rules and regulations.

Section 4. Competitive Areas for Positions in the Bargaining Unit

Competitive areas for unit position in the Agency, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area are: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Bethesda, Rockville, Poolesville, MD.

Prior to initiating any reduction in force action, position descriptions shall be reviewed for accuracy and official personnel folders must be updated to reflect employees' latest experience and training as submitted by the employee on an OF-612 or its equivalent for use in determining qualifications for other positions. As deemed necessary, the Employer may request employees to update their OF-612 or equivalent.

Section 6. Release From Competition

1. When it becomes necessary to release employees from a competitive level, noncompeting employees shall be released first. After all employees who are not competing employees are eliminated, the Employer shall select competing employees for release in the inverse order of their retention standing beginning with the lowest; i.e., all employees in Group III are selected for release before any in Group II, and all employees in Group II are released before any in Group I. Within each Group, all employees in Subgroup B are released before any in Subgroup A, and all employees in Subgroup A are released before any in Subgroup AD.



2. Noncompeting employees will be listed apart from the retention register but on the same document. They will be removed by means other than reduction in force from positions in the competitive level before releasing any competing employee from the level through reduction in force action. Noncompeting employees are those:



1. Serving in a position under a specifically leave alone limited temporary appointment or temporary or term promotion;



2. With a written decision under 5 CFR Part 432 of removal for performance reasons.



3. Employees with a written decision of demotion under Title 5 C.F.R. Part 432 will compete from the position to which demoted.



4. The only exceptions to the above procedures will be those afforded by government-wide rules and regulations.



1. The Employer may provide a temporary exception for up to ninety (90) days for bonafide administrative reasons (e.g., an employee on extended sick leave or an absent employee who did not receive their notice on the same date as higher standing employees) so long as the rights of higher standing employees are not adversely affected.



2. Where the Employer has made exceptions to the normal order of selection as outlined above, notice shall be provided as follows:
   
   
   1. In cases of a continuing exception (more than ninety [90] days), written notice of the exception and the reasons for the exceptions will be given to each higher standing employee reached for release from the same retention register;
   
   
   
   2. In cases of a temporary exception (up to ninety [90] days), written notice of the exception and the reason for the exception including the date the lower employee's retention will end, will be given to each higher standing employee reached for release from the same retention register;
   
   
   
   3. The Employer will notate on the retention register the reason for any exception to the regular order of release. In addition, when a temporary exception is made the retention register will also reflect the date the retention will end;
   
   
   
   4. All exceptions will be made in a fair and objective manner;
   
   
   
   5. Group I or II employees who are selected for release from their competitive level, shall be offered to be assigned to a position for which they are qualified in another competitive level which requires no reduction, or the least possible reduction, in a representative pay rate when a position in the other competitive level is held by another employee in a lower tenure group or in a lower subgroup within the same tenure group AND is no more than three (3) grades or grade intervals below the position from which released; or with lower retention standing in the same tenure group and subgroup AND is not more than three grades or grade intervals below the position from which released (except that for a preference eligible with a compensable service connected disability of thirty [30] present or more the limit is five [5] grades intervals) AND is the same position or an essentially identical one, previously held by the released employee in a Federal agency.
   
   
   
   6. An employee is entitled to only one (1) offer of assignment, and the Employer shall select which of two (2) or more positions with the same representative rate it wishes to offer. An employee is entitled to no further offers when:
      
      
      1. They accept an offer;
      
      
      
      2. They reject an offer;
      
      
      
      3. (They fail to reply to an offer within a reasonable time; or
      
      
      
      4. An employee will be given ten (10) working days in which to accept or reject a reassignment offer made pursuant to this Section.

Section 7. Content of Notice of Release

1. The action to be taken, the reasons for the action, and its effective date;



2. The employee's competitive area, competitive level, subgroup, service date, and three (3) most recent ratings of record received during the last four (4) years;



3. The place where the employee may inspect the regulations and record pertinent to this case;



4. The reasons for retaining a lower-standing employee in the same competitive level under 351.607 or 351.608 of Title 5 C.F.R.;



5. Information on re-employment rights, except as permitted by 351.803(a) of Title 5 C.F.R.; and



6. The employee's right, as applicable, to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under the provisions of the Board's regulations or to grieve under a negotiated grievance procedure. The agency shall also comply with 1201.21 of Title 5 C.F.R. of this title.



7. When an agency issues an employee a notice, the agency must, upon the employee's request, provide the employee with a copy of OPM's retention regulations found in part of 5 CFR 351 of this chapter.

Section 8. Where an employee is proposed for separation or assignment to a lower grade level, the employee and/or their designated Union representative shall have the right to inspect retention records and other records pertinent to their case, including Office of Personnel Management and NIH/ORS reduction in force regulations. The employee and/or their Union representative are entitled to inspect the registers listing employees who may be entitled to displace him, as well as the registers of employees they may be entitled to displace.

Section 9. Re-employment Priority

1. The Employer shall establish and maintain a reemployment priority list for each competitive area in which it separates Group I or II employees by reduction in force. The name of each separated employee shall be entered on the list for all competitive positions in the commuting area for which they are qualified and available.



2. An employee who has declined assignment to a full-time, nontemporary, competitive position with a representative rate no lower than that of the position from which separated, shall not have their name placed on the list.



3. The name of a separated Group I employee shall remain on the list for two (2) years, while the name of a separated Group II employee shall remain on the list for one (1) year from the date separated.



4. An employee's name shall be deleted from the list when:
   
   
   1. The employee so requests, in writing;
   
   
   
   2. The employee accepts a non-temporary, full-time competitive position;
   
   
   
   3. They decline a non-temporary, full-time competitive position with a representative rate no lower than that of the position from which separated by reduction in force; or
   
   
   
   4. Establish and maintain a Re-employment Priority List for the affected competitive area(s).

Section 10. Employees separated from the Agency by reduction in force actions shall be advised in writing by the Employer of their rights to severance pay, if any; a lump sum payment for all accrued annual leave; their eligibility to apply for the Office of Personnel Management Displaced Employee Program; their Quality for placement on the re-employment priority list; their eligibility for discontinued service retirement; and the effect of the reduction in force on life and health insurance coverage.

Section 11. An employee who is placed as a result of a reduction in force action in a lower grade position than the previous position, and who is otherwise eligible, shall receive grade and pay retention benefits in accordance with Title 5 U.S.C. 5362 and 5363.

Section 12. NIH Career Transition Assistance

1. Policy

In making personnel adjustments resulting from program and organizational changes, it is the objective of the Agency that it will make every reasonable effort to place all employees affected by the RIF or TOF in continuing positions for which they are qualified at NIH. Where it is determined to be appropriate by Management, consideration will be given to retraining effected employees to enable them to qualify for continuing positions.

2. Personal Interview; Special Problems

The Agency will give affected employees a personal interview and will treat each as an individual to try and resolve special problems.

3. Displaced Employee Assistance Program



1. This program applies to all employees in the bargaining unit of the Agency except those having temporary appointments and those falling in Group III under Part 351 of OPM Regulations.



2. Employees displaced by reduction in force will be assisted by the Agency in finding other suitable positions as explained in this Article. This includes Employees who are affected by TOF and are unable to accept assignment to another commuting area.



3. The procedures for assisting displaced employees are as follows:
   
   
   1. When an employee is released from the Agency by RIF action, every effort will be made to seek placement of the employee in another position for which the employee is qualified and available at the same or lower grade from which the employee was displaced.
   
   
   
   2. The employee's name will be entered on an NIH Displaced Employee List (DEL) or its equivalent. The employee's name will be automatically referred for consideration for all NIH vacancies for which he or she is qualified. If the employee is not selected, the selecting official will provide a written explanation for non-selection.

Section 13. When an employee or the Union believes the Employer has incorrectly applied applicable law, regulation, or this Article in a reduction in force action, a dispute may be filed pursuant to Article 31.