In past years, the college has carried out job eliminations by scheduling a meeting near the end of May with a staff member and their supervisor (or their supervisor’s supervisor), and a member of HR who attends to ensure that the USofCC contract is followed. Because of the large number of layoffs expected, the format of the meetings might be different.
Shortly before the layoff meetings begin, the union president will be provided with a list of staff whose positions are being eliminated that day. The union is not allowed to contact staff prior to their official meeting to give a heads-up, but the union will be available to answer questions and concerns in the days and weeks following notifications.
Note: If you are a part-time union employee who does not work summers or if your position is grant funded, there is specific contract language in Article V.G.1 below regarding the 90-day-notification as it pertains to your position. HR will explain your situation in the meeting. The general overview that follows might not apply to you exactly.
General overview
During the meeting you will learn (among other things):
- Your last day of employment (90 days from the date of the meeting);
- Whether your department requires you to work any portion of the 90-day notice.*
- How many vacation days you will have earned that will be paid out at the end of the 90 days.
- The amount of severance you will receive at the end of the 90 days.*
- Options to continue health care insurance beyond the 90 days.
*The default amount of severance has been two weeks of regular pay; however, if you have been employed at Columbia for more than 10 years and are required to work at least half or all of the 90 days, the severance will be four or six weeks, respectively.
Staff whose jobs have been eliminated will continue to receive paychecks through the 90 days, and full-time staff will continue to have health insurance coverage during the 90 days. The severance and vacation days will be paid in the college’s payroll following our last day of employment.
The current USofCC contract can be found in its entirety in “Resources” on the union website: https://usofcc.org/contract-2/
The section specific to job eliminations is Article V. G.1-7. A cut-and-pasted version without original formatting follows. There is language about tuition remission, paid days for interviewing, software access, opportunities to reapply, etc. Please reach out to Joan if you have additional questions: jmcgrath@colum.edu, x6706.
G. Job Elimination
1. Job Elimination Generally
The College may need to eliminate a position or positions. Except as provided below for certain part-time Unit Members, a Unit Member will be given ninety (90) days notice, in
writing, when the Unit Member’s position will be eliminated. The College will notify
USofCC regarding such eliminations (and any expectation for continued work) prior to
the meeting in which the Unit Member is notified. The College will first attempt to notify
the USofCC President and/or the USofCC Vice President directly via telephone. The
College will also notify these USofCC representatives via email. The Human Resources
Department will endeavor to have an HR representative present at each Unit Member
meeting; in the event an HR representative cannot attend, one will be available in the HR office for the remainder of the workday to answer questions. The College agrees to
include information about how to contact their USofCC representative within the
information package provided to laid off Unit Members.
After the Unit Member’s last day of employment, the Unit Member will receive two (2)
weeks of regular pay; however, Unit Members with ten (10) or more years of service
who are required to work at least half of the ninety-day notice period will receive a total
of four (4) weeks of regular pay, and Unit Members with ten (10) or more years of
service and who are required to work the entire ninety-day notice period will receive a
total of six (6) weeks of regular pay. Provided further that Unit Members in fully grant-
funded positions do not receive any additional regular pay after the notice period.
During the ninety-day (90-day) period, the Unit Member may take up to twelve (12) paid
days to attend job interviews. The Unit Member must provide three (3) business days
notice to the Unit Member’s immediate supervisor prior to the absence.
In only those cases where the College eliminates a part-time position and the Unit
Member is not normally scheduled to work for ninety days after the decision is
communicated, the Union Member (unless in a fully grant-funded position) will receive
one week of pay for each week that notice is not provided, capped at a total of four (4)
weeks, calculated based on the average number of weekly hours that the Unit Member
worked during the previous 12-months. To illustrate:
| Scheduled Workweeks After Notice | Weeks of Additional Pay |
| 4 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 1 | 3 |
| 0 | 4 |
The College decides in its discretion whether a laid off Unit Member will be required to
work during the ninety-day notice period. If Unit Members are required to remain on
the job, they will be informed of this decision (and the expected duration of work) at the
notification meeting. Unit members who are not required to work during the ninety-day
period will still be paid according to the College’s pay schedule and will be expected to
respond to reasonable requests from the College for information. Such Unit Members
will also cooperate, when possible, with reasonable requests to work if needed
(however, the College will not make more than one request to work during the ninety-
day period). Such Unit Members will also be permitted to retain the Columbia ID card
(unless circumstances will not permit), access the Columbia email account, and access
the “IRIS” page for a period of three (3) business days after notification of layoff. Such
Unit Members will also have access to internal job postings, MyC Self Service, and
LinkedIn Learning (or any similar training services then provided by the College) for the
ninety-day period. Extended access may be revoked if a Unit Member misuses any of
these systems or otherwise engages in misconduct during the extended period. Unit
members who are laid off may be required to return physical keys, College equipment,
and/or any other Columbia property.
2. Student Workers
If a department lays off a Unit Member from a position that (1) regularly exercised
supervisory authority over other students or (2) was responsible for promulgating and
enforcing safety rules and regulations, the College will not reassign those specific duties to student workers.
3. Tuition Remission
The same tuition remission benefit that active employees receive will be extended to
Unit Members whose positions have been eliminated as follows.
1. An affected Unit Member may use the tuition remission benefit to complete
courses for which the Unit Member is registered that are in session as of the
last day of employment.
2. An affected Unit Member may use the tuition remission benefit for eligible
family members as follows:
a. Family members registered in courses at the time a Unit Member
receives notice that the Unit Member’s job is eliminated may
complete those courses;
b. Family members are eligible for tuition remission for one additional
term (excluding J-terms) that begins within one-hundred and eighty
(180) calendar days from the date of the job elimination notice; or
c. Eligible family members who have applied, and are ultimately
accepted, as first-time freshmen are eligible for tuition remission for
one semester (excluding J-terms) if:
i. the semester for which they have applied begins within one-
hundred and eighty (180) calendar days of the date on which
the USofCC member receives notice that the Unit Member’s
job is eliminated; and
ii. the application is completed by the priority deadline for that
semester.
4. Interviews
Unit members who have lost jobs due to position elimination will be granted the same
access to interviews as current staff for twelve (12) months from their last day of
employment at the College. This shall apply only if applicants identify in their cover
letter that they are a recent employee of the College and include their last day of
employment.
5. Notice of Open Positions
Whenever a Unit Member’s position is eliminated under this Article V.G, the College will
provide that Unit Member with a list of posted positions at the meeting in which they19
are notified of the elimination. If qualified, the Unit Member may apply for a posted
position and if the Unit Member meets the requirements of Article V.A of the
Agreement, they will be interviewed. By way of example, and without limitation, if a
final candidate has been selected and/or if employment offers have already been
extended to other qualified candidates, the Unit Member will not be interviewed for
that position.
6. Rehire Rights
Should an eliminated position be reopened and posted within twelve (12) months of the
notice of elimination, the Unit Member(s) who held that position when it was
eliminated shall be notified of such posting and may reapply. Such a Unit Member who
reapplies will be rehired for the position provided:
a. The Unit Member’s documented job performance was satisfactory during
their last twelve (12) months in that position;
b. The Unit Member had no documented corrective action in the last twelve
(12) months in that position (by way of example, a successfully
completed Performance Improvement Plan will not be considered
corrective action for purposes of this subsection);
c. The Unit Member did not engage in any unacceptable conduct or
behavior during the separation process and did not engage in any post-
elimination conduct or behavior making rehire inappropriate; and
d. The position has not already been offered to another qualified candidate.
Should the number of eligible applicants for rehire exceed the number of applicable
open positions, the College will determine which Unit Member(s) to rehire.
7. Vacant Positions
Thirty (30) days after any position is vacated for any reason, and provided that the
vacancy will directly impact a Unit Member, the Union may request and, upon request,
the College will confirm whether there is a plan to seek a replacement and, if so,
whether the College has received (and/or approved, if applicable) a request for a waiver
of the mandatory four-month hold for the replacement. Should it later decide not to
seek a replacement, the College will update the Union accordingly.
United Staff of Columbia College 