Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/802239
SPRING 2017| WEAnews 8 Prepare Yourself For A Possible Reduction In Force by the Hacker Law Firm selecting employees to be RIFed). If your employer is imposing a RIF, follow the process closely, and document what you see and hear. 3. If it appears that your employer is going to be making RIF decisions, then make sure that your supervisors and others in the chain of decision-making know about your certification endorsements, qualifications, skills, activities, and value to the employer. 4. Be aware if you are a potential target for a RIF. While some employers do use objective and consistent criteria to select employees for RIF, others use nebulous standards like "best interests of the district/ college," which unfortunately provide cover for targeting an employee who is not well liked, is controversial or outspoken, is "difficult," or is "expensive" (with that term being code for "older"). Employers sometimes see a RIF as an opportunity to discharge a continuing contract/ tenured employee who would otherwise be very difficult to terminate. If you fall into the category of being unfairly targeted for reasons like this, you should make timely contact with your UniServ Director to discuss your concerns and what additional things might be done to help protect yourself. While a RIF termination can sometimes mean that you have reduced or different rights as compared to a normal termination, that does not mean that you necessarily have no legal rights. For example, it remains unlawful to RIF an employee for an illegal reason, such as discrimination or retaliation for protected First Amendment activities. 5. Be informed and thoughtful before entering into any agreement with your employer related to a RIF. Some employers may offer severance agreements which ask an employee to resign and release claims against the employer as a way to implement a RIF termination. Being RIFed better allows you to make a claim for unemployment benefits (resigning may eliminate that claim). Being RIFed is also better when applying for future jobs because your application will show that you were NOT let go for disciplinary reasons, but rather because of district finances. While there can be benefits to employees for signing such agreements, there are also benefits to the employer in the form of employee waivers of rights. These kinds of agreements will likely be legally binding and not reversible, so make sure that you understand beforehand the implications of signing. 6. If a RIF is unavoidable, you should prepare for a job search by getting letters of reference from colleagues, administrators and anyone else who knows your work. Your resume should specifically mention the RIF as the reason you lost your job. One of the concerning trends we have seen in recent years and are anticipating to continue for school year 2017-18 and beyond is a move by education employers to look to reductions-in-force (RIF) of personnel in order to address budget concerns. Here are some suggestions for you to consider: 1. Be active (preferably in conjunction with other employees when possible) in monitoring the discussions about budget concerns and possible RIFs. Sometimes employers act too soon, before actual budget concerns are present, or act too aggressively, by cutting more positions than actually need to be cut. Possibly the best time to avoid or minimize RIFs is during the discussion and decision- making process about the need for RIFs. Don't be afraid to ask for documents and information (virtually all information about funding, budgets, enrollment, etc., is publicly available as a matter of law), and to speak up with questions or opposition. 2. Be aware of your employer's policies regarding RIFs—not only what criteria and process the employer is supposed to use, but also what rights you may (or may not) have to contest a RIF should you be selected. In our experience, many education employers don't closely follow their own RIF processes (often because they don't want to have to explain their decision-making or reveal that they used vague or inconsistent standards for