S 2344 Savino

A2763 Abbate

Bill and bill memo below:

S 2344 SAVINO Same as A 2763

01/06/10 Civil Service Law
TITLE....Requires 60 day notice of any
suspension or demotion be furnished
to the employee affected, the civil
service department and the
appropriate employee organization
02/18/09 REFERRED TO CIVIL
SERVICE AND PENSIONS
03/24/09 REPORTED AND
COMMITTED TO FINANCE
01/06/10 REFERRED TO CIVIL
SERVICE AND PENSIONS
01/26/10 REPORTED AND
COMMITTED TO FINANCE
06/15/10 COMMITTEE DISCHARGED
AND COMMITTED TO RULES
06/16/10 ORDERED TO THIRD
READING CAL.990
06/16/10 PASSED SENATE
06/16/10 DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
06/16/10 referred to governmental
employees
A2763 Abbate Same as S 2344
<JAVASCRIPT:getselect("BSTFRAME",
"SPECIAL","2009","BILLS02344")>
SAVINO
Civil Service Law
TITLE....Requires 60 day notice of any
suspension or demotion be furnished
to the employee affected, the civil
service department and the
appropriate employee organization
01/21/09 referred to governmental
employees
02/24/09 reported
02/26/09 advanced to third reading
cal.143
01/06/10 referred to governmental
employees
05/18/10 reported
05/20/10 advanced to third reading
cal.885

ST
ATE OF NEW
YORK
__________________________
______________________________
________________

2344

2009-2010
Regular Sessions

I
N SENATE
February 18,
2009
_________
__
Introduced by Sen. SAVINO --
read twice and ordered printed, and
when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Civil
Service and Pensions

AN ACT to amend the civil service

law, in relation to requiring sixty
days notice to an employee prior to
suspension or demotion

The People of the State of New York,

represented in Senate and Assembly,
do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section

81-a of the civil service law, as
amended by chapter 140 of the laws
of 1993, is amended to read as
follows:

1. Establishment of
reemployment rosters in the state
service; general provisions. The head
of any department, office or
institution from which an employee in
the state service is to be suspended
or demoted in accordance with the
provisions of section eighty or eighty-
a of this article, shall, at least
[twenty] sixty days prior to such
suspension or demotion, furnish the
affected employee, state civil service
department and employee
organization with a statement
showing such employee's name, title
or position, date of appointment, and
the date of and reason for suspension
or demotion. Notice given to any
employee pursuant to this section
shall be by personal service or by
certified mail to the last address filed
by the employee with the employer.
Upon such employee's suspension or
demotion, it shall be the duty of the
department to place the name of such
employee upon a reemployment
roster for filling vacancies in any
comparable position as determined by
the department, except that
employees suspended or demoted
from positions in the non-competitive
and labor classes may not be certified
to fill vacancies in the competitive
class. Such reemployment roster shall
be certified for filling a vacancy in any
such position before certification is
made from any other list, including a
promotion eligible list, but not prior to
a preferred list. Eligibility for
reinstatement of a person whose
name appears on any such
reemployment roster shall not
continue for a period longer than four
years from the date of suspension or
demotion provided, however, in no
event shall eligibility for reinstatement
from a reemployment roster continue
once the person is no longer eligible
for reinstatement from a preferred
list.

§ 2. This act shall take

effect immediately.

NEW YORK STATE SENATE

INTRODUCER'S MEMORANDUM IN
SUPPORT
submitted in accordance with Senate
Rule VI. Sec 1

BILL NUMBER: S2344

REVISED 03/01/10

SPONSOR: SAVINO

TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law,
in relation to requiring sixty
days notice to an employee prior to
suspension or demotion

PURPOSE:
To provide notice to state employees
before they are laid off. While
"layoff" does not appear in the civil
service statute, according to the
NYS Department of Civil Service
REDUCTIONS IN FORCE - A
MANAGERS
GUIDE, a Reduction in Force (RIF) or
layoff is the separation or
demotion of permanent employees
resulting in the abolition of positions.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill would require that a state
agency prior to laying off an
employee, give at least sixty days
notice of such layoff to the employ-
ee, the employee's organization and
to the State Civil Service Depart-
ment.

EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH

THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:
Current law requires a state agency to
give twenty days notice to the
State Civil Service Department before
an employee is laid off.

JUSTIFICATION:
An employee who is going to be laid
off needs sufficient time to seek a
new job, enroll in retraining courses,
or otherwise find ways to support
him or herself. The legislature and
governor recognized this by enacting
New York's Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification Act (Chapter
475 of the Laws of 2008). The Warn
Act requires private employers with
50 or more employees to notify the
workforce at least 90 days prior to a
plant closing.

New York should provide its public

employees with a similar notice peri-
od. Current law only requires that 20
days notice be given to the state
Civil Service Department. That notice
is simply inadequate. State work-
ers who have served the people of
New York and then lost their jobs
through no fault of their own deserve
greater recognition and the
assistance needed to make the
transition. Moreover, by also requiring
that the notice be provided directly to
a representative of the employ-
ee's organization, the employee can
receive more immediate assistance in
responding to the employer's layoff
decision.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
1996 - A.10676 Passed
Assembly/S.7469 Died in Civil Service
and Pensions
Committee (similar)
1997 - A.3207 Passed
Assembly/S.1985 Died in Civil Service
and Pensions
committee
1998 - A.3207 Passed
Assembly/S.1985 Died in Civil Service
and Pensions
Committee

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE

AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.