Title: Section 171
Subject: Series Specification
Author: Cecilia D. Palomo
Last saved by: Rogers, Kari
Company: California Department of Human Resources

LAYOFF MANUAL

MAJOR AREA: DEMOTIONAL PATTERNS
SECTION NUMBER: 500

ORIGINAL ISSUE DATE: January 2003
REVISED: January 2008

This section explains an important mechanic of the layoff process: Demotional Patterns.
PRIMARY DEMOTIONAL PATTERNS
These include classes at lower salary levels in the same series as the class of layoff, and classes in which specific employees formerly served in probationary or permanent appointments.

•	An employee has primary demotional rights to lower classes in his/her class of layoff, whether or not he/she served in the classes. He/she must, of course, have sufficient seniority to "stick" in one of the classes.

•	An employee has primary personal demotional rights to classes in other series in which he/she served (in any department) in probationary or permanent appointments, IF the layoff department uses the classes in the area of layoff, AND the employee has sufficient seniority to "stick.”

-When seniority scores are requested from DPA, it is critical that personal demotional rights are identified and scores are requested for those employees' personal demotional classes. If you are unaware of an employee's personal demotional rights and the employee later notifies you that he/she wishes to demote to a former class, you would have to then obtain seniority scores for that class to see if he/she has sufficient seniority to "stick" in the class, and what the impacts will be. This could delay the layoff process.

-Personal demotional rights may be elected to any former class that is within transfer range or lower salary range of the class of layoff and is used in the area of layoff.

•	An employee is eligible to be placed on general, departmental, and subdivisional reemployment lists for each class in a primary pattern through which he/she demotes.
SECONDARY DEMOTIONAL PATTERNS
The appointing power that is reducing staff may identify classes that are related to the layoff class and request that DPA approve them as secondary demotional classes. These may be any classes in which the similarity in duties and minimum qualifications to the layoff class indicates that employees in the layoff class will be able to perform the duties of the secondary demotional classes.

•	The identification of a secondary demotional pattern is based on the requirements of the class of layoff not on any special qualifications of individual employees in the class of layoff.

•	An employee is eligible to be placed on departmental and subdivisional reemployment lists for each class in a secondary demotional pattern through which he/she demotes.
HOW IS IT DETERMINED WHETHER AN EMPLOYEE IS DEMOTED THROUGH THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PATTERN
An employee has the option to select demotion in either the primary (including personal) or secondary pattern in accordance with GC Section 19997.8, even if one pattern has vacancies and the other does not.
BUMPING RIGHTS
A layoff is limited to the appointing power that is reducing staff, and the "bumping" rights of employees are limited to that appointing power. In other words, an employee who is laid off by Department A cannot "bump" a less senior employee in Department B, even if the employee once worked there.

Following are sample demotional scenarios with demotional chart for your reference.