Frequently Asked Questions Related to Budget Reductions
The following questions have been asked of staff in the Office of the Chancellor Human Resources Division. The questions and answers are being provided here as a means of ensuring that all college and university HR staff have the same information.
Note: This document is not intended for employees. Employees should direct their questions to their college or university Human Resources Office.
Tuition Waiver
Coding
Severance Payment and Vacation Payoffs
Outplacement Assistance Requirements
Insurance and COBRA
Various Statutory Provisions
Consultation
Early Retirement Incentives
Miscellaneous
A. Tuition Waiver
1) Can an employee who is being laid off apply for a tuition waiver?
Employees are not eligible for tuition waiver benefits during permanent layoff unless provided for in an applicable contract or salary plan; currently the only provision is in the IFO contract where retrenched employees continue to be eligible for the tuition waiver benefit for one year following separation.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
2) Can an employee who is laid off use a tuition waiver that was approved prior to the layoff?
Retrenched IFO faculty (and their eligible dependents) are eligible for the tuition waiver benefit (capped at 24 credits) for one year following separation. For all other employees who separate from MnSCU service, the employee is able to utilize his/her tuition waiver benefits for the term that includes the date of separation, so long as the course for which the waiver is used has begun prior to the employee’s date of separation.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
B. Coding (All question regarding Coding should be directed to the HR Help Desk)
1) How do I code employees who have been laid off?
The following link will take you to coding standards for use in SEMA4 position management and SCUPPS to manage employee record processing accurately.
Coding Narrative Directions / Coding Chart
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
2) How do I code an unclassified employee whose position is cut due to lack of funds but whose contract or plan doesn’t call it a layoff?
The following link will take you to coding standards for use in SEMA4 position management and SCUPPS to manage employee record processing accurately.
Coding Narrative Directions / Coding Chart
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
C. Severance Payments and Vacation Payoffs
1) How do I handle the vacation payoff and severance payment for a MAPE and MMA unclassified employee about to be laid off?
Under both the MAPE and MMA contracts, MnSCU Academic Professionals, Customized Training Representatives and MnSCU Academic Supervisors may be separated through a reduction in force upon meeting the appropriate years of continuous service. Even though a reduction in force is not a layoff, the following payoffs are managed similarly.
Unclassified MAPE employees who are separated through a reduction in force are eligible for vacation liquidation and severance pay. Under the terms of the MAPE contract, as these reductions are not a layoff, both the vacation liquidation and the severance payment would go to the Health Care Savings Plan if each respective amount is greater than $200.
Unclassified MMA supervisors separated through a reduction in force are eligible for vacation liquidation. The supervisor must meet one of the three conditions outlined in Article 16, Section 10 of the MMA Contract for the vacation liquidation amount, which must be greater than $500, to go to the Health Care Savings Plan. If the supervisor does not meet one of these three conditions, the vacation liquidation would be paid to the employee in cash. MMA supervisors separated through a reduction in force are not eligible for a severance payment due to separation. A MMA supervisor would need to meet the severance pay eligibility conditions outlined in Article 16, Section 9 in order to receive a severance payment. If the supervisor is eligible for a severance payment, then the provisions of Article 16, Section 10 will govern whether the severance payment is paid in cash to the employee or if the payment goes to the Health Care Savings Plan.
Applicable units: MAPE and MMA
Updated: 2/25/09
2) Are unclassified employees covered by the Managerial Plan or Commissioner’s Plan eligible for severance pay if their positions are eliminated for budget reasons?
Unclassified Commissioner’s Plan employees are eligible for severance pay if their position is eliminated and they have at least 5 years of continuous state service. Unclassified Managerial Plan employees are eligible for severance pay if their positions are eliminated and they have at least 5 years of continuous service in unclassified managerial positions.
Applicable units: Commissioner’s Plan and Managerial Plan
Updated: 2/27/09
3) Are Administrators covered by the System’s Personnel Plan eligible for severance pay if their positions are eliminated for budget reasons?
The Personnel Plan for Administrators does not provide for severance pay in the event a position is eliminated for budget reasons. An Administrator would need to meet one of the other severance pay eligibility requirements contained in the Personnel Plan.
Applicable units: MnSCU Administrators Plan
Updated: 2/27/09
D. Outplacement Assistance Requirements
1) Some of the contracts and plans require outplacement services? How do I find them?
MSUAASF: Article 22, Section F. Placement Assistance. The Employer, with the Association, shall select a placement consultant and provide placement services and assistance to any bargaining unit member who is given notice of layoff and who requests such service.
IFO: Article 23, Section H. Outplacement Service. MnSCU, after consulting with the IFO, shall select an outplacement consultant and provide such services to faculty members who are given notice of layoff and who request the service.
We have already met with IFO on this issue and Bill Brady is going to contact MSUAASF about using Career Partners, Inc. (CPI) for this service (they have had members use it in the past and were satisfied with the service). This was discussed with the SU CHRO’s via conference call. Gary Janikowski will make the contact with CPI and provide them with the names of the CHROs at each of the campuses for outreach purposes.
Applicable units: IFO and MSUAASF
Updated: 2/25/09
E. Insurance and COBRA
1) What are the insurance continuation requirements for employees?
Classified employees with three or more years of continuous service will receive a continuing employer contribution towards insurance for 6 months from the date of the permanent layoff. After the initial 6 months, the employee may pay for continuing insurance coverage through COBRA for an additional 12 months. Classified employees with less than three years of continuous service do not receive a continuing employer contribution towards their insurance coverage, but have COBRA continuation rights for 18 months.
MnSCU Administrators with three or more years of service, MAPE Academic Professional with one or more years of continuous service, MAPE Customized Training
Representatives with three or more years of continuous service and MMA Academic Supervisors who are separated through a reduction in force also receive a continuing employer contribution towards their insurance coverage for 6 months.
Tenured IFO faculty with three or more years of continuous service who are laid off continue to receive an employer contribution for 12 months. A MSUAASF faculty member with three or more years of service continues to receive the employer contribution for 12 months following the layoff.
MSCF full-time unlimited faculty with license credentials who receive a full employer contribution and who has 4 years of continuous service, are eligible for a 6 month continuing employer contribution upon layoff. MSCF full-time unlimited faculty with license credentials and 5 or more year of continuous service who receive a full employer contribution receive 12 months of continuing employer contribution upon layoff. MSCF full-time unlimited faculty with assigned field credentials who receive a full employer contribution and who have three or more years of continuous service are eligible for 12 months of continuing employer contributions upon layoff. MSCF part-time unlimited faculty with assigned field credentials who receive a full employer contribution and who have three or more years of continuous service are eligible for 6 months of continuing employer contributions upon layoff.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
2) How long can an employee keep paying for their insurance after the employer contribution benefit due to layoff ends?
That depends on the length of time the employer must make a contribution towards the employee’s insurance due to the layoff. The entire time frame for the continuation of the group insurance due to the layoff is 18 months for all units except IFO Faculty. The 18 month period is a combination of the employer payment period and the time period that the employee may continue to pay for the coverage. So, for example, if the employer is paying a continuing employer contribution for 6 months, the employee could pay for the coverage for another 12 months; if the employer is paying a continuing employer contribution for 12 months, the employee could pay for the coverage for another 6 months, etc.
IFO tenured faculty members who are laid off receive an employer paid insurance benefit for 12 months. After these 12 months expire, the employee may continue with employee paid insurance at the group rates for an additional 30 months. In order to insure the employee's right to receive this benefit, State University HR Offices will need to send a memo to SEGIP with an affected employee's name and EIN, date of layoff, 12 month period of employer paid coverage and 30 month period of employee optional continuation under COBRA.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 4/13/09
3) An AFSCME employee on layoff indicated that she would take temporary work during the layoff, so we brought her back from the layoff for a three month temporary assignment. The AFSCME contract says she is eligible for insurance during the temporary assignment. Since she has enough years of service to receive the employer contribution towards insurance, how long does the employer contribution have to keep going after a layoff of one month and a temporary assignment of three months?
Under the AFSCME contract, the employer is required to continue making the same employer contributions as when the employee was actively working, for a period of six months. If an employee returns to work on a temporary or emergency appointment, this appointment period interrupts the required six months time period – it does not use it up. So in your case, you paid for one month of coverage before the employee came back to work on the temporary assignment, and you’ll need to pay for an additional five months of coverage when the temporary assignment ends.
Applicable units: AFSCME
Updated: 2/25/09
4) An AFSCME employee has been given a layoff notice and is thinking about claiming a vacancy. The employee’s current position has a full employer contribution for the insurance. The job she is thinking about claiming has only a partial employer contribution for the insurance. How do I handle the 6 months of employer paid insurance if she takes the part time job?
If she claims the part time job, she would not be entitled to the 6 months of full employer insurance contribution. She would be entitled to the level of employer contribution towards insurance, and any other benefits, based on the employment condition of new position. By exercising a claiming right, the employee is avoiding a layoff and accepting another position. The right to a continuing employer insurance contribution is only applicable when an employee is actually laid off.
Applicable units: AFSCME
Updated: 2/25/09
5) We have an employee who already received a layoff notice who meets the age and service requirements to be a retiree under the group insurance plan. He is asking about his ability to retire later on, so that he will be in the early retiree insurance group after all of his layoff benefits expire, like the paid employer insurance, recall rights, the unemployment insurance, etc. What should we be telling him?
If the employee is eligible for an Early Retirement Incentive/Early Separation Incentive under the terms of a bargaining unit contract/salary plan and wants to take advantage of those benefits, the employee must declare their intent to retire and actually separate from service prior to the effective date of the layoff.
A classified employee or an unclassified employee who is not eligible for an ERI/ESI who is laid off, and who intends to retire following the layoff, must declare that intent within 30 days of the layoff effective date. An employee who does not declare their retirement, receives only the 18 months of COBRA insurance continuations rights due to the layoff (any combination of employer and employee paid months), and the employee is not able at any time to then be part of the early retiree group.
If an employee declares his/her intent to retire within 30 days of the date of the layoff, the employee will receive the employer contribution towards the basic insurance for the 6, 9 or 12 months that is due to the layoff. After the employer payment due to the layoff expires, the employee will go into the early or regular retiree insurance group. In order for this to take place, the campus human resources office must code the employee correctly: the appropriate layoff or RIF coding followed by another effective dated set of coding for early or regular retirement. The campus will also need to provide the employee with all of the appropriate retirement continuation forms. The basic coverages continuation forms are future dated to when the employer contribution due to layoff ceases. The employee should be provided with the employee and/or spouse paid up life insurance option, information about continuation of the MDEA and the HRA, etc. The employee will not be able to continue the short or long term disability coverage and a classified employee will not be placed on the recall/layoff lists with MMB. At the end of the employer payment towards the basic coverage insurance due to the layoff, the campus will need to process the employee's retirement, including any severance payment, $250 contribution to the HCSP, vacation payoff, etc. due to a normal retirement.
Applicable Units: All
Updated: 3/22/09
6) We are hiring an employee who was already laid off. We are hiring this person as an AFSCME temporary employee. Do we need to pay for insurance coverage for this person, as the AFSCME contract says that a person on layoff who is rehired as an emergency or temporary worker gets insurance coverage?
This will depend on the bargaining unit the employee was laid off from. If the employee was laid off from an AFSCME position, and you hire this individual for an emergency or temporary AFSCME position, then yes, you will need to provide the employee with employer paid insurance coverage at the same level as the employee previously had in the layoff position. If the employee was laid off from another bargaining unit, for instance the MAPE bargaining unit, then the temporary worker is not eligible for employer paid insurance coverage in a temporary AFSCME position. Even if the employee was laid off from another MnSCU college or university, or any other State agency, as long as the person is moving from an AFSCME layoff status to an AFSCME emergency or temporary appointment, the employee will receive the same insurance contributions as he/she previously received.
Applicable Units: AFSME
Updated: 3/22/09
6)
F. Various statutory provisions
1) How does salary savings leave fit for an employee whose position is being cut?
There is no fit or connection. Employees who are approved to take leave in accordance with the salary savings leave are not protected from layoff or reduction in force actions.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
G. Consultation
1) Do I need to talk to anyone in the Office of the Chancellor before initiating a layoff under any of the contracts or plans?
Yes, please talk to Linda Skallman if you are planning to eliminate the position of a MnSCU Administrator, and Mary Muenchow for someone in the MSUAASF unit. State University Presidents must consult with the Chancellor before implementing a retrenchment of tenured faculty.
Applicable units: MnSCU Administrators, IFO, MSUAASF
Updated: 2/25/09
H. Early Retirement Incentives
1) How do I find out what early retirement incentives might be available to help us avoid layoffs?
A link to the following matrix will be helpful.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
2) Can an employee who is being laid off also take an Early Separation Incentive under the collective bargaining agreement?
No, employees cannot receive both layoff benefits and early separation incentives. Employees, who are noticed of layoff, may within the notice period, request to separate under other separation incentives for which they may be eligible. In order to access the separation/retirement incentives, employees must separate from employment prior to the intended date of the actual layoff. Failure to do so defaults to the action of layoff and the benefits associated with it.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09
I. Miscellaneous
1) Can we bring a laid off employee back as a contractor?
No, the concerns related to using independent contractors still apply. We cannot pay someone both as an employee and as a contractor in the same year. In the case of an employee covered by a union contract, there may also be concerns about contracting out of bargaining unit work.
Applicable units: All
Updated: 2/25/09