Page 104 - Employee Handbook 1-2015 rev9

Retention in the Area of RIF. To provide an equitable basis for determining the order
of retention, all affected employees in the area(s) of RIF are to be evaluated against one another
to determine their retention standing.

All regular employees in the area of RIF will be grouped together by current position
classification title. If the reduction in force affects more than one class title, each class title will
be treated separately. (Note: A classification is a specific group of positions which are similar in
duties and responsibilities such that they justify common treatment in selection, compensation
and other employment processes and the same description title may be used to designate all
positions in the same class, regardless of the organizational units in which they are located.)

To determine regular employees’ retention standing, the following factors shall be
considered:

 The needs of the organization
 The performance of employees as documented
 The skills/education levels of employees as documented
 Should the performance standing and skills/education levels of any affected
employees be considered equal, employee(s) to be retained will be selected on the
basis of seniority.
 In no instance will employees be separated from employment based on age, sex,
sexual orientation, race, disability, religion, national origin, or other status protected
by applicable Federal or State law.

Continued Employment Outside of the Area of the RIF. Although the City cannot
guarantee placement of all affected employees, every effort will be made to place employees
who have an overall performance rating of “Solid Performer” in areas outside of the RIF. An
employee must notify his department head or designee within five (5) working days of
notification of the reduction in force of his desire to be considered for such placement. First
priority for placement will be within the department where the reduction in force occurred. The
next level of priority will be placement elsewhere in the City.

When vacant positions exist in the same or a lower classification, employees scheduled to
be laid off will be considered for those positions for which they meet the minimum training,
education, experience, and certification or licensure requirements in lieu of layoff. Employees
who are reduced in classification, band or Market Reference Point within the same band or
whose job classification band assignment is reduced will retain their present pay and their
evaluation date, with this exception: If their present pay is above the maximum of the new band,
they will retain their pay one (1) month for each full year of full-time service with the City, after
which their pay will be moved to the maximum of the new band.. If a suitable position is not
found within sixty (60) calendar days of notification of the reduction in force, the employee will
be laid off and will then be eligible for the severance pay option.

Training and Employment Counseling. The City Manager, or his designee, is
authorized to provide for employment counseling, job training and outplacement assistance to

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City of Winston-Salem Employee Handbook (January 2015 Revision)