Employees of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) are concerned, as are most state employees, about proposed radical changes to the state retirement plan that could radically alter the lives of tens of thousands of state workers.
But for some in the department, there is a greater concern: a Notice of Impending Layoff that went out on Tuesday, April 10.
“In accordance with the requirement of Civil Service Rule 17.12(a), notice is hereby given of an impending layoff to be effective no later than June 30, 2012, in the Louisiana Department of Education,” began the memorandum from State Superintendent John White.
“This layoff is being proposed due to elimination of 58 authorized positions (which includes vacancies) from the Table of Organization and a reduction of state funds in the Operating Budget for FY 2013,” White said.
It is not immediately known how many active employees will be affected, but there were indicates that most of the 58 positions to be abolished were unfilled positions.
“Once the layoff plan has been approved by the Director of Civil Service, it will be made available to you via the LDOE Intranet,” white said.
Employees to be impacted by the reduction in force are scheduled to be notified this week, the memorandum said. “Any questions concerning this matter should be directed to Kim Fitch, Human Resources Director,” it said.
Affected employees, among other things, are required to respond to any relocation offer. Failure to comply will be considered a declination of the offer, White said.
“Once an employee accepts or declines a relocation offer, the decision is final,” he said.
Similar notices have gone out to other agencies in past months, including the Office of Risk Management, the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Department of Health and Hospitals.
A similar notice is expected to go out soon to employees of the Office of Group Benefits where about 130 employees are expected to lose their jobs to the privatization of the agency’s Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).
Louisiana Voice 