Retention points are a measure of seniority within the classified civil servicefor Classified Civil Service employees, and the are used in the event of a lay off. Retention points are calculated for full-time, part-time and substitute classified civil service employees.
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- Full-time employees in active pay status earn 4 1 retention point for each quarter of continuous service (4 per year). Quarter Quarters are based on each individual's hire date.
- Part-time employees in active pay status earn one-half point for each quarter of continuous service (2 per year)
- Substitute employees in active pay status earn 1 point for each year of continuous service
Continuous service is defined as the uninterrupted service of an employee with Columbus City Schools where no break in service occurs. Break in service is defined as a separation from Columbus City Schools of thirty-one days or more.
Lay off situations
In the event of a lay off situation, the person with the lowest number of retention points will ultimately be the person who is laid off; however there is a process which takes place and some exception to that rule.
The exception, who is laid off does depend on job class. For example, if a secretary position is cut due to budgetary constraints, but the classified employee with the lowest number of retention points is a maintenance worker, the lay off will be restricted to people within the secretary job class.
As for the process, the position which is to be cut is based on budget, work load, etc. Therefore, the cut position has nothing to do with who is in the position. For example, the secretary position at school #1 may be cut because there's not enough work to support hat position, but that secretary may have more retention points than the secretary position at school #2. In this situation, secretary #1 will bump secretary #2 from her position, and secretary #2 can do the same thing to secretary #3 until they reach the person with the lowest number of retention points. It is that person who will then be laid off.
In the event someone is laid off, they are put in an unpaid "holding" status for 1 year, and could be brought back to the district if a position opens. However, after that 1 year, if there are no open positions, the person is then terminated from the system and they would need to reapply if they were interested in working for the district again.
seniority points within the job class is identified. If lowest senior person has been in the job class for more than 3 years - OR - if less than 3 year, but it is the only job class the employee has worked in, than the employee will be laid off. However, if the employee held a position within another job class at CCS, and they moved into their current job class within the last 3 years, they then have "look-back rights," meaning, even though their current position is being cut, the employee back move back into their previously held position. The "look-back rights" may cause another employee to be laid off in place of the original employee.
Example: John was a Bus Driver for several years, but 1 year ago he move into a Custodian II position. He is the lowest senior within the Custodian II job class, and his position is being eliminated due to budget cuts. Because John has been in the Custodian II position for less than 3 years, instead of being laid off, he has the option to "look-back" and go back to his Bus Driver position. If there is a vacant Bus Driver position, he will fill that position. If there is not, and for example, Henry is the Bus Driver with the lowest seniority (including lower seniority than John), then John will take Henry's position and Henry will be laid off.
Bumping Rights
When a position is eliminated, it does not necessary mean the person is eliminated. First, if there are any vacancies, the person being displaced from the eliminated position will be offered the vacant position. If they choose to not accept the vacant position, then they are choosing to be laid off. However, if there is not a vacancies, then retention points need to be reviewed to identify the least senior person within the job class. The least senior person will be laid off, and the displaced employee will be placed in the newly created vacancy.
Example - Vacant Position: A Secretary position at Northgate has been eliminated, so the person in that position, Jane, is displaced. There is one vacancy within the district and it is at Briggs High School. The position is offered to the displaced Secretary, Jane. If Jane chooses to not accept the position, she is laid off. However, if Jane chooses to take the position, she is placed into the vacancy at Briggs High School. If that is not the ideal situation for her, she can always submit bid for a position that may open at a location of her choosing, but she will have to wait for the position to open. See "Bidding" for more information
Example - No Vacancies: A Secretary position at Northgate has been eliminated, so the person in that position, Jane, is displaced. There are no vacancies within the district, and Jane has more retention points within the Secretary job class than other Secretaries. Human Resources identifies the Secretary with the lowest retention points within the Secretary job class, in this case it is Donna. Regardless of the location, Jane is offered that position. If Jane accepts the position, then Donna is notified and laid off. If Jane does not accept the position, then Jane is laid off.
Reinstatement Rights
In the event of a lay off situation, the employees who have been terminated are put on a reinstatement list for 1 year. If a position within their job class opens within that year, CCS is required to offer the position to the employees on the reinstatement list, in order of seniority, prior to hiring anyone from outside the district. If the employee(s) on the reinstatement list decline the position, then other candidates may be considered. If no vacancies become available within that year, the employee(s) are removed from the reinstatement list. If they would like to work for CCS again, as positions become available, they would need to reapply and go through the interview process again.