ARTICLE
XIV
SENIORITY
SECTION 1. Employment seniority shall commence on the date of the employees first hiring by the County.
SECTION 2. In filling existing vacancies (including promotions), preference shall be given to the senior most qualified employee.
SECTION 3. Seniority shall be the governing factor in layoffs, vacations and shift assignments. Seniority in job title shall be the governing factor in assigning overtime, except that the County shall have the right to maintain the employees who are assigned to Road Paving, Road Reclamation and Snow Removal in the event of overtime only.
SECTION 4. Part-time employees shall have a separate seniority roster which shall be subordinate to the seniority roster of the full-time permanent employees.
SECTION 5. ABOLITION OF NON-COMPETITIVE AND LABOR CLASS POSITIONS - In the event of a reduction in force, the employee with the least departmental seniority in the job title shall be excessed first. Any further reductions shall proceed on the same basis.
An employee so excessed, shall have the right to displace the least senior incumbent (within the department only) in the next lower job title previously worked at that title’s rate of pay. For this purpose a job whose title may have been changed through reclassification and in which the excessed employee had formerly worked subject to the County Personnel Officers determination on records under the Personnel Officer’s control shall be considered a "next lower job title previously worked".
Employees who are earning above the base rate who retreat to a lower paying classification, shall continue to earn the differential in the new classification.
Probationary, temporary, seasonal and part-time employees shall be laid off before resorting to a job abolition among full-time permanent staff.