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Dear ______, You're 'Surplus.' Sincerely, Gov. Schwarzenegger
Gov. Schwarzenegger couldn't talk just one more person to vote to pass the state budget in his press conference this afternoon (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Since the folks gathered at the Capitol are having the state's saddest slumber party and can't get the one Republican vote needed to get a budget through, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is making good on his promise to start staffing reductions to save on state payroll.
Read the whole letter after the jump.
State of CaliforniaSurplus Notice
Dear
In the face of a $42 billion budget shortfall, and still no budget, measures are needed to preserve the State’s cash. Even when a budget is passed, and even with the mandatory furlough, elimination of programs, offices or other reductions in workforce, and layoffs will be required.
As you know, civil service rules require that the least senior employees in departments receive surplus notices when there is a reduction. You have been identified as one of the least senior in your department which means that you may face layoff, demotion in lieu of layoff, or transfer.
As has been reported, SEIU 1000 has recently signed a tentative agreement with the State. If you are an employee in a SEIU bargaining unit, you will have special placement provisions to a job within 10% of your current salary and within 50 miles of your home in order to avoid layoffs. While this agreement requires final ratification by the SEIU 1000 membership and the Legislature, we will be preparing to implement these position reductions along with the placement provisioning for SEIU 1000, in expectation that this tentative agreement will be ratified.
You have been designated as surplus and have priority hiring preference for open positions for which you qualify.
Now that you have been informed of your surplus status, there are specific things you need to do and keep in mind:
1. Read and keep this letter, attach a copy of this letter to your job application form (Std. 678) and take a copy to all job interviews. This will verify your surplus status to the hiring department.
2. Review state vacancies on the State Personnel Board’s (SPB) Vacant Position Database (VPOS) http://www.spb.ca.gov/jobs/vpos/index.htm and apply for those comparable positions for which you may qualify.
3. Always respond quickly to hiring departments inquiries. If you do not, your surplus status may be impacted.
4. Appear for all scheduled interviews; your eligibility for surplus status will be impacted if you do not.
5. Keep your contact information current.
6. If you are offered a job for which you qualify, accept it. Otherwise your surplus status and hiring preference for a job will be in jeopardy.
Each department is now preparing a staffing reduction plan. If you are impacted by this plan, in addition to this surplus notice, your name will be placed on the State Restrictions of Appointments (SROA) certification list for your class and location. Hiring departments use this certification list to contact eligible employees for interviews when filling vacant positions.
For more information on the State’s surplus/SROA lists and layoffs, go to http://www.dpa.ca.gov/personnel-policies/sroa/main.htm.