320     SEPARATIONS

I. RESIGNATION
II. RETIREMENT
III. INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION
IV. DEATH

I.         RESIGNATION

An appointee who is planning to resign should give notice in writing to the Regional Director, with copies to the County Director; or to the Program Leader, with copies to the SSPP Director; or to the Assistant Vice President-Programs, with copies to the Director- Research and Extension Center System, as appropriate. This should be done sixty or more days before termination of employment. The last working day shall become the date of resignation. Resigning appointees are requested to use all accrued vacation leave before the date of resignation, if possible. If their job duties are of so pressing a nature that vacation leave cannot be used, the remaining leave is paid as terminal vacation.

The appointee shall complete an Appointee's Terminal Report and shall submit it to the Regional Director, the appropriate Program Leader, or the Assistant Vice President- Programs, as appropriate. The appointee's immediate supervisor shall also fill out a Terminal Report and shall submit it to the Regional Director or the other appropriate next-level supervisor. For Advisors, the Contacts and Self-Assessment (CASA) reports must be completed to the date of resignation (the last day actually worked). All reports of field research should be recorded up to date. The appointee is responsible for returning to the administration both University and USDA identification cards (if any). The appointee shall return to the immediate supervisor all equipment, materials, books, and other University property that he or she has. The Assistant Vice President-Academic Personnel, Planning and Budget will cancel the appointee's authority to use the federal penalty mailing privilege.

The Benefits Counselor shall provide the appointee with a form on which he or she may select an option for disposition of accumulated retirement funds. It shall be the appointee's responsibility to notify the insurance carriers if he or she wishes to retain group health or life insurance plans or convert them to individual insurance, as deductions for payment will stop with the last regular salary check.

II.     RETIREMENT

1. Retirement Systems

Each career academic appointee in the Division is a member of, and is covered by, one of three retirement systems: University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), or Federal Civil Service Retirement System (FCSRS).

2. Prescribed Retirement Date

Academic appointees who do not hold tenure or security of employment are not subject to a prescribed retirement date.

3. Preparation for Retirement

Retirement preparations should begin at least six months in advance of the anticipated retirement date. At this time, the prospective retiree should contact the Regional Director, Assistant Vice President-Programs, the appropriate Program Leader, or other appropriate supervisor. At least three months in advance, the prospective retiree should contact the Benefits Office to make arrangements for actual application for retirement. Counseling and estimates of retirement income are also available from the Benefits Office.

4. Disability Retirement

In case of severely disabling conditions, disability retirement may be available. Information concerning disability retirement is available from the Benefits Office.

5. Vacation and Sick Leave Accumulation

Accrued vacation leave not taken before the effective date of retirement is paid as terminal vacation, as described in APM-730.

Accrued sick leave shall be credited toward retirement for appointees in all retirement systems that accept accrued sick leave for service credit, as described in APM-710. This accrual is added to the service credit used in the retirement formula to increase the benefit.

III.     INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION

1. Layoffs

This section sets forth the policies and procedures governing layoffs and involuntary reductions in time for CE Advisors, CE Specialists, and Academic Coordinators or Administrators. Before any layoff or involuntary reduction in time, the Assistant Vice President-Academic Personnel, Planning and Budget shall review and approve the layoff plans to ensure that applicable policies and procedures are followed.

1. Applicability. This policy applies to all academic appointees in the Division with the following exceptions:

1. Academic appointees of campus-based programs and SSPPs assigned to a campus for administration. These individuals are subject to campus policies.

2. Academic appointees in student status. These individuals are employed for a specific period of time, and failure to reappoint is not considered a layoff.

3. Academic appointees employed for a specified period of time with a stated ending date, when that date is earlier than the date of the intended layoff.

2. Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to establish equitable and consistent practices for academic appointees in the Division whose appointments must be terminated or reduced in time because of lack of work or lack of funds.

3. Policy. The following regulations govern layoffs and involuntary reductions in time:

1. Responsibility

The Regional Director, the appropriate Program Leader, or the Assistant Vice President-Programs, shall determine when a reduction in their respective staffs is necessary. Reasonable efforts shall be made to find other suitable appointments within the University for appointees who are subject to layoff.

2. Order

The order of layoff or involuntary reduction in time for appointees in the same title and layoff unit shall be determined on the basis of special skills, knowledge, or ability essential to the operation of the Division, as defined by the Regional Director or comparable administrative authority. When there is no substantial difference among appointees with respect to these criteria, seniority shall be taken into account as a factor in determining the order of layoff or involuntary reduction in time. Preference for retention shall be given to appointees with greater seniority. In the case of an appointee paid from extramural funds in connection with a research grant or contract, the Principal Investigator shall be consulted.

Within the Division, each county, SSPP, or REC shall be considered a separate layoff unit for the purposes of this policy.

3. Determination of Seniority

If seniority is used to determine the order of layoff or involuntary reduction in time, it shall be based on the number of months of full-time equivalent service with the University.

4. Written Notice

At least three months written notice should be given to appointees with less than three years of service, and not less than four months notice should be given to appointees with three or more years of service. In the event of an emergency situation in which funding is no longer available, not less than one month notice shall be given. Pay may be given in lieu of notice.

5. Layoff Status

Layoff status is limited to one year. Layoff status may be less than one year if:

1. The appointment would normally have expired, for appointments with specified ending dates; or
   
2. Reappointment occurs within the Division to the same or to an equivalent position.

Appointees in layoff status shall be recalled into any vacant position for which they are qualified when the position is in the same unit as that from which they were laid off. If more than one qualified person is in layoff status from the unit, the order of recall shall be in inverse order to the order of layoff or reduction in time. However, an appointee who possesses skills that are unique and that are essential to a project may, upon approval of the Assistant Vice President-Programs, be reemployed regardless of the order of layoff or reduction in time. The Coordinator of Academic Personnel shall maintain a current roster of all appointees who are in layoff status.

6. Benefits upon Reemployment

When a person is reemployed after a period of layoff not exceeding twelve months, the periods before and after layoff are considered as continuous service for the limited purpose of applying University policies concerning sick leave, vacation, holidays, reduced fees, military leave, and merit salary increases. However, benefits and credits for service, including those related to any retirement system, do not accrue during periods on layoff status, and accrue during an involuntary reduction in time in accordance with applicable policy.

4. Appeal. Layoff decisions may be appealed in accordance with policy and procedure set forth in Section 350.

2. Termination

Terminations may occur because of unsatisfactory performance, or for good cause. Terminations that occur because a program or function has been discontinued, or because of a reduction in time, are considered layoffs and are covered under Section III-A above. When an appointment is to be terminated, written notice shall be given in advance of the termination date in accordance with the following schedule:

1. In the event of unsatisfactory performance, not less than one month notice shall be given, unless otherwise specified in APM-334, APM-335, APM-370, or APM-375. Unsatisfactory performance shall be documented as provided in Section 316.

2. For good cause, termination may be made with no advance notice.

3. In either case, pay may be given in lieu of notice.

3. References

See APM-140, APM-145, and APM-150 for additional information on involuntary termination.

IV.     DEATH

1. Notification

If an appointee dies, his or her supervisor shall advise the Coordinator of Academic Personnel and must provide the appropriate Benefits Office with the following information immediately, preferably by telephone:

1. Place, date, and hour of death.
   
2. Cause of death, including any circumstances that may involve official duty.
   
3. Names and beneficiary status of survivors:

1. Names and ages of children, if any.
   
2. Widow or widower's name, if applicable. Is the surviving spouse the beneficiary (if known)?
   
3. If the beneficiary is not the spouse, is the beneficiary a dependent (if known)?

4. Place, time, and date of funeral or memorial service. Does the family wish flowers sent? Memorial requests, if applicable.

5. Name of attorney or executor of estate, address, and relationship to the deceased (if known).

2. Announcement

Upon receipt of the above information, the Coordinator of Academic Personnel shall:

1. Advise the immediate staff most concerned and send an announcement to the Editor for publication in the next ANR Report.
   
2. Send a separation notice to the appropriate Accounting Office, which shall:

1. Institute proceedings to have a check in the amount of one full month's salary, without deductions, issued at once. This check is issued only to the surviving spouse or dependent beneficiary.

This check shall be in addition to any other salary due the deceased appointee. Any other salary that may be due a deceased appointee shall be issued according to the provisions made in a valid will, or absent a valid will, according to the applicable state inheritance laws. The University shall include in this check the payment of any accrued and unused vacation leave.

2. Mail or deliver the check to the surviving spouse or dependent beneficiary.
   
3. Begin the process of arranging for payment of any other insurance benefits that may be available, whether paid for by the University or by the appointee.

3. Notify the appropriate retirement office, so that death benefits and continuing survivor benefits may be arranged. The retirement system will communicate directly with the survivors, or with the person handling the estate, to make arrangements for payment.

October 1999

Return to Series 300 Academic Personnel

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