Section 2. ACS, HRA, DHS, DJJ and DOE Transfer Procedure

Printer-friendly versionWhen the Agency (ACS, HRA, DHS, DJJ or DOE) decides it is necessary to transfer Employees in any title into a particular work location or locations, such transfers shall be made in accordance with the following provisions:

1. VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS:
   1. Employees who possess the required qualifications, if any, from the Voluntary Transfer Request File, regardless of location, in seniority order.
   2. Any additional volunteers, who possess the required qualifications, if any, regardless of location, in seniority order.
   3. Notwithstanding the above, the Agency reserves the right to limit the number of volunteers transferring from any particular location to fill a vacancy in the period of a year to no more than 10 percent of Employees, but not less than one (1) Employee, in the title affected. For purposes of this clause, the year shall be defined as July 1 to June 30.
2. INVOLUNTARY TRANSFERS: If there are insufficient volunteers to fill the vacancies the Agency desires to fill, or if secondary vacancies are created, the following procedure shall govern:
   1. The Agency shall select a location or locations as a source for such transfers. The Agency may establish limits on the number of Employees in a particular title to be involuntarily transferred from any particular work location.
   2. The following order of priority among Employees possessing the required qualifications, if any, shall be followed:
      1. (1) Volunteers from within the designated locations up to the established limits, if any.
      2. (2) Non volunteers by inverse order of seniority, except employees who fall within the Section 2(b)(ii)(3) shall, for the purpose of this Section 2(b)(ii) be the last to be involuntarily transferred. If such employees are transferred involuntarily, they shall be transferred in order set forth in Section 2(b)(ii)(3).
      3. (3) Exceptions:
      1. Employees under extended probation or special evaluatory supervision who have received written notice of such status.
      2. Employees involuntarily transferred twice within the previous twelve (12) months.
      3. Travel hardship cases.
      4. Medical or personal hardship cases.
3. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS:
   1. Requests for transfer to any position which the Agency may decide to fill by transfer shall be submitted on a form provided by the Agency for this purpose directly to the HRA Transfer Unit with a copy to the location administration. The Transfer Unit shall maintain a voluntary transfer request file of such requests.
   2. When the Agency decides to fill a vacancy by transfer, the Union will be advised of the date of such decision and whether there are sufficient volunteers on file.
   3. Employees in the voluntary request file shall be granted transfers in order of seniority to positions which the Agency has decided to fill by transfer. Such transfers may not be granted to employees falling within the priority category in Section 2(b)(ii)(3).
   4. At least five (5) working days prior to the filling of a vacancy which the Agency decides to fill by transfer and has the authority to fill (except for vacancies filled pursuant to Section 2(c)(x) on an emergency basis), notice of such vacancy shall be posted on relevant Agency bulletin boards. Qualified Employees wishing to volunteer shall submit a written request. This subsection shall not be applicable if there are sufficient names in the voluntary transfer request file to fill the vacancies.
   5. Employees shall receive receipts for voluntary transfer requests and rescissions.
   6. Notwithstanding any other provisions, the Agency may limit the number of voluntary transfers for any employee to no more than one in any twelve (12) month period.
   7. Hardships:
      1. Travel hardship cases shall be judged by the Agency based upon the Employee's last official address on file with the Agency's personnel division or bureau. Employees notifying the Agency's personnel division or bureau of a change of address shall receive a receipt attesting to the fact that he/she has filed the necessary change.
      2. When an Employee submits a medical or personal hardship, the Agency must immediately give a receipt and give a written decision to the Employee in a timely manner. Approval of such a request shall include the length of time of such approval.
      3. In the event that a claimed hardship is invalidated or disallowed by the Agency, the matter shall be subject to the grievance procedure directly to Step II or, at the option of the Union, directly to arbitration. If an involuntary transfer is imminent, an expedited Step III determination shall be issued.
      4. An Employee who has requested exemption from the performance of some of the duties of his/her title and has been determined by the Agency to have a medical hardship which makes it unfeasible for said employee to perform field or other duties shall, where feasible, be reassigned to an appropriate vacancy within the work location or be given preference when there is an appropriate vacancy which the agency has determined to fill by transfer. Otherwise, at the Agency's discretion, such an employee may be involuntarily transferred to an appropriate vacancy. Involuntary transfers shall be in inverse order of seniority from among any such affected employees, and the hardship priorities of Section 2(b)(ii)(3) shall apply.
   8. The Agency shall not transfer any Employee as a penalty without the presentation of charges in accordance with established disciplinary procedures.
   9. Upon notification by the Union, the Agency, where feasible, agrees to effectuate a mutual exchange of employees wishing to transfer between two locations. Such exchanges shall be based on seniority within the respective locations. Denial of such exchanges shall not be arbitrary and capricious.
   10. The Agency shall have the right to transfer an Employee on an emergency basis for not more than fifteen (15) working days. Extensions of this period shall be made by mutual consent of the parties. Where feasible, the Agency will not assign an Employee on an emergency basis more than once every six (6) months. The need for an emergency transfer shall be declared by the agency head or his/her designee.
   11. Employees to be involuntarily transferred shall be given a list of vacancies which are to be filled. The Employee shall have the right, in seniority order, to select any such vacancy for which he/she meets the requirements, if any.
   12. The Agency agrees that workers to be involuntarily transferred shall receive five (5) working days notice in writing, where feasible.
   13. Where feasible, the voluntary transfer request file shall be utilized before Employees are reassigned to new locations.
   14. The reporting date of an Employee selected for voluntary transfer shall not be unreasonably delayed.
   15. The Office of Personnel Services shall return to the Employee any request for transfer submitted which does not contain the qualifications, if any, for the position.
4. If the Agency wishes to reassign Employees between two locations performing the same or similar functions in the same site and program, the following procedure shall govern:
   1. The Agency after determining the number of Employees in title to be transferred, shall reassign between the locations in order of seniority from the available volunteers.
   2. If there are insufficient volunteers, the Agency shall reassign involuntarily in accordance with the applicable provisions of Section 2(b)(ii) above.
5. Variations of this Section 2 may be made with the mutual consent of the Agency and the Union.