Layoffs on the Horizon? Prepare Now!

Public school districts are facing the prospect of significant State funding cuts because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on New York State’s finances. As a result, reductions in force may be a part of some school districts’ reopening plans. Different rules and layoff procedures will apply to different classes of employees, so school district administrators should familiarize themselves with the various statutory and contractual schemes that govern layoff decisions.

Certificated Employees. The order of layoffs among certificated personnel, including teachers, school administrators, librarians, guidance counselors and teaching assistants, is governed by the Education Law. Pursuant to the statute, when a board of education abolishes a position, the services of the teacher, administrator or other covered employee having the least seniority within the tenure area of the position abolished “shall be discontinued.” “Seniority,” for purposes of determining certificated employees’ layoff rights, is defined as the length of service in a designated tenure area, rather than length of service in the district.

Non-Instructional Employees. The layoff of non-instructional school district employees may be governed by statute, by collective bargaining agreement, or even by Board of Education policy, depending upon the Civil Service classification of the position being abolished. For example, for employees in the “competitive” class, the Civil Service Law provides that they must be laid off in “inverse order of their appointment on a permanent basis.”

On the other hand, the order of layoffs of employees in non-competitive, labor and exempt class Civil Service classifications is generally not governed by statute. However, a collective bargaining agreement or local Civil Service rule may specify criteria impacting the order of layoffs when a covered position is eliminated, so applicable labor contracts and administrative rules should be carefully reviewed early in the layoff planning process.

Because many layoff-related disputes involve the classification of employees and the calculation of an employee’s seniority, it is a good practice to review school district seniority lists with employee collective bargaining representatives before layoffs are announced and implemented. In addition, procedures and eligibility requirements for the future recall of laid off employees (whether statutory or contractual) should be reviewed, so that if and when schools are in a position to recall laid off staff, there is no confusion as to which employees are eligible for recall. Taking the time to review reduction in force and recall procedures before layoffs become a reality may help to avoid future litigation and labor strife.

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