MEMO dated: July 16, 2012 Subject: TEMPORARY CORRECTIONAL OFFICER REASSIGNMENTS AT CRITICAL NEEDS INSTITUTIONS

MEMO dated: July 16, 2012

Subject: TEMPORARY CORRECTIONAL OFFICER REASSIGNMENTS AT CRITICAL NEEDS INSTITUTIONS

Effective July 23, 2012, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will be experiencing large staff surpluses at several institutions.  Based upon these surpluses, there is a  need to reassign Correctional Officers from these institutions to work temporary assignments at several institutions with staff shortages.  These reassignments could be up to 60 days.

When temporarily reassigned, Correctional Officers will receive contractual short-term per diem, (subject to the Department of Personnel Administration law and rules) and mileage (If a privately owned vehicle is authorized for use).  Additionally, during the 60-day temporary assignment periods, reimbursement for the number of miles driven in excess of an employee’s normal commute (roundtrip) will be authorized once every two weeks during the temporary assignment.

Institutional staffing overages and shortages were calculated utilizing the Standardized Staffing PY authority against the project filled positions at implementation of Standardized Staffing on July 23, 2012.  The number of staff on long term sick was also factored in to determine the projected surpluses and shortages at each institution.  The attached Correctional Officer Reassignment Chart (Attachment A) reflects the nine institutions with the most projected staff surpluses along with the 12 institutions with critical needs. The number of staff to be sent from each institution to the identified critical needs institution is also charted out. 

Surplus institutions should immediately seek volunteers with the highest seniority will be contacted and offered the assignment.  If the staff member declines the assignment, the next person on the list will be contacted.

Institutions with surplus will be required to send the designated number of staff to the designated critical needs institutions.  If the target number of positions for reassignment cannot be filled through voluntary means, staff will be involuntarily reassigned based on inverse seniority.  In cases of involuntary reassignments, targeted number of spots at the designated critical needs institutions each critical needs institutions targeted number before moving down to the next institution.  For example, if only two of the 18 required Officers volunteer to get temporarily reassigned from Avenal State Prison (ASP) and both select Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP), 16 Officers from ASP now have to be involuntarily reassigned by inverse seniority to meet ASP’s designated surplus of 18.  Starting with the least senior Officer at ASP, a third will be reassigned to PBSP.  The next 12 least senior Officers will then be assigned to Corcoran (COR) before reassigning three of the next lease senior Officers to Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF).

Attached is Side letter agreement reached by the Office of Labor Relations and CALIFORNIA CORRECTIONAL PEACE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION (CCPOA), which modifies the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Section 12.03 changes the section from involuntary reassignment from 30 work days to 60 calendar days.  In all other respect, MOU section 12.03 remain unchanged.

No employee will be assigned more than once per fiscal year.  If serious and/or extenuating circumstances exist, employees may submit a request for hardship exception from involuntary reassignment to Bridgid Hanson, Assistant Secretary of Labor, via email at brigid.hanson@cdcr.ca.gov

Initial assignments are anticipated to take effect July 30, 2012.  Every effort will be made to provide employees with as much notice as possible; however, all employees must receive at least seven calendar days notice (by July 23,2012)  VIA THE COMPLETED Temporary Reassignments at critical needs institutions (Attachment D)  prior to assignment.  The personnel Assignment Office of the sending institution will make contact with the receiving institution to make arrangements for these temporary assignments.

Staff involuntarily assigned in the process who fail to report will be considered Absent without Leave pursuant to Government Code section 19996.2

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