POLICY

A. Purpose

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) Career-appointment employees who have been involuntarily laid off or whose time has been involuntarily reduced may be eligible for the right to be recalled to their position and/or for the right for preferential re-employment.

B. Persons Affected

• This policy applies to nonprobationary Career-appointment employees who have been involuntarily laid off or involuntarily reduced in time. Career appointment employees in the Upper Laboratory Management Appointment should consult Upper Laboratory Management Appointments policy.
• This policy applies to nonrepresented employees. Represented employees should consult their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

C. Exceptions

Request for exceptions that exceed what is allowed under current policy or that are not expressly addressed by current policy are considered exceptions to policy. A request for an exception to policy requires, at minimum, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) approval.

D. Policy Statement

1. Right to Be Recalled to Layoff Division
   1. Only Career employees who have passed probation and who do not volunteer for the layoff are eligible for recall.
   2. An employee has the right to recall for three years from the date of layoff.
   3. An employee who is separated or whose time is reduced because of layoff will be recalled in order of seniority into any active and vacant Career position for which he or she is qualified when the position is in the same class, layoff unit, and at the same or lesser percentage of time as the position held at the time of layoff.
      1. A layoff-unit manager may reject an employee for recall only if the employee lacks qualifications required for the position. Reasons for rejection will be provided by the layoff-unit manager, in writing, to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for review and approval.
      2. An employee recalled for a position different from the one held at the time of layoff may, on written notification, be required to serve a trial employment period of up to six months on rehire. An employee required to serve a trial employment may, at any time during the trial employment period, return to layoff status at the employee's or the layoff-unit manager's discretion. Time spent in trial employment will not count against the period of eligibility for recall or preference for rehire.
   4. Right to recall terminates if an employee:
      1. Refuses an offer to return to the layoff-unit division and job title/code from which he or she was laid off at the same or greater percentage of time
      2. Refuses two offers of re-employment for Career positions at the same or higher salary level and the same or greater percentage of time as the position held at the time of layoff
      3. Accepts a Career position at the same or higher salary level and the same or greater percentage of time as the position held at the time of layoff, or
      4. Retires
   5. Right to recall continues during, but is not extended by, periods of temporary, non-Career Laboratory employment.
   6. Right to recall is suspended if an employee does not respond to written notice of an employment opportunity or if the employee does not respond in the affirmative to periodic inquiries about continuing his/her right(s) after one year. Right to recall may be reinstated, however, on written request of the employee and approval of the CHRO.
2. Preference for Re-employment (Preferential Rehire)
   1. Only Career employees who have passed probation and who did not volunteer for the layoff are eligible for preference for rehire rights.

   2. Preference for Re-employment Eligibility Period.

      Years of Service*	Preference for Re-employment Eligibility Period
      Less than 5 years	1 year from date of layoff
      At least 5 but fewer than 10 years	2 years from date of layoff
      10 or more years	3 years from date of layoff

      *In this table, "Years of Service" is based on seniority. Determination of seniority is defined in the Reduction in Force policy. For purpose of layoff, seniority will be determined on the basis of one point for each month of full-time-equivalent paid University service in any job class or title.

   3. An employee who separated or whose time is reduced because of layoff or who has received written notice of layoff or reduction in time within the two calendar months before the layoff date will be granted preference for re-employment or transfer to any active and vacant Career position at the Laboratory for which he or she is qualified when the position is (1) at the same salary level or lower (as determined by the salary-range maximum) and (2) at the same or lesser percentage of time as the position held by the employee at the time of layoff. When written notice of layoff or reduction in time is given more than two months prior to the layoff date, the Chief of Human Resources (CHRO) may authorize that preferential re-employment begin with the date of layoff notice.
      1. During the two calendar months preceding the layoff date or beginning from the date of layoff notice (whichever is later), the Layoff Coordinator will give employees on preferential-rehire status Laboratory-wide consideration for positions in the same job code and at the same or lesser percentage of time as the job from which the employee was laid off. In addition, during the preference eligibility period, preference will be given for any job that meets the requirements as noted in the above paragraph for which the employee requests to be considered within two weeks of the posting date of the position.
      2. An employee terminated due to indefinite layoff will be given first consideration for preference for employment in active and vacant Career positions, as described above, for which he/she has applied.
      3. A layoff-unit manager may reject an employee with preference for re-employment or transfer only if the employee lacks qualifications required for the position. Reasons for rejection will be provided by the layoff-unit manager in writing to the CHRO for review and approval.
      4. An employee who is reassigned at his or her request during the pre-termination preference for re-employment period or rehired under preference for re-employment may, on written notification, be required to serve a trial employment period of up to six months. Such an employee may at any time during the trial employment period return to layoff status at the employee's or the layoff-unit manager's discretion with 30 days' written notice. Time spent in trial employment will not count against the period of eligibility for recall or preferential rehire.
   4. Right to preference for re-employment terminates if an employee:
      1. Refuses an offer to return to the layoff unit and job title/code from which he or she was laid off at the same or greater percentage of time
      2. Refuses two offers of re-employment for Career positions at the same or higher salary level in the same or greater percentage of time as the position he or she held at the time of layoff
      3. Accepts any Career position, or
      4. Retires
   5. Right to preference for re-employment continues during, but is not extended by, periods of temporary Laboratory employment.
   6. Right to preference for re-employment is suspended when an employee does not respond to written notice of an employment opportunity or if the employee does not respond to periodic inquiries about continuing his or her right(s) after one year. Preference for rehire may be reinstated, however, on written request of the employee and approval of the CHRO.
3. Re-employment at Another University Location: If a person on recall and/or preferential-rehire status wants to be considered for employment at a University of California campus or another laboratory, the CHRO will provide the manager at that location with a copy of the individual's resume and a written request for consideration.
   Benefits Office

   The Benefits Office is located in the 90P Trailer.

   Benefits phone: (510) 486-6403 (internally x6403)
   Benefits fax: (510) 486-6009
   Benefits email: Benefits@lbl.gov

   Mailing Address:

   HR Benefits Group
   One Cyclotron Road
   MS 90P
   Berkeley, CA 94720

4. Benefits on Re-employment: When a person is re-employed within the period of right to recall and/or preference for re-employment, the periods before and after layoff are considered as continuous service for the limited purpose of applying University policies concerning sick leave, vacation, holidays, probationary period, reduced-fee enrollment, seniority points for layoff, military leave, and merit salary increases. All prior sick-leave credit will be reinstated during the period of eligibility up to a period of three years. Benefits and credits for service, including those relating to retirement systems, do not accrue for periods on recall and/or preferential rehire status. The employee should contact the Benefits Office immediately upon re-employment for assistance.
5. Records and Reports: The Layoff Coordinator will maintain a current roster of all persons on recall and preferential-rehire status and will record all refusals, offers of employment, rejections of persons by layoff-unit managers, and refusals of employment offers by individuals on the preferential rehire list.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Roles, responsibilities, authority, and accountability are documented in applicable procedures in Section H below.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

H. Implementing Documents

I. Contact Information

For information regarding this policy contact your Division's HR Center.

Do you have feedback regarding this policy? Contact the HR Policies Analyst, HR Department, hrpolicies@lbl.gov

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• University of California Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) 60, Layoff and Reduction in Time from Professional and Support Staff Career Positions
• University of California Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) 2.21, Absence from Work

Implementing Documents