2.48.380 Lay-off and reduction in rank.
Whenever it becomes necessary in either department through lack of work, insufficient funding, or any other cause to reduce the force, lay-offs and reductions shall be made by department and by class of position as determined by the city. The civil service commission shall adopt rules governing lay-off procedures. Those rules shall use the following criteria and shall recognize the city's policy that a most recently hired civil service employee shall be the first to be laid off and the most recently promoted civil service employee to a classification subject to reduction shall be the first to be demoted:
A. Temporary or emergency employees occupying the civil service position but who have not been certified by the civil service commission for that position shall be laid off first.
B. Probationary employees in positions subject to reduction shall be laid-off next in inverse order of their seniority in the classification in the department.
C. Regular civil service appointees shall be the last laid off in each position and lay-offs shall be in inverse order to their seniority in the position.
D. Civil service employees occupying positions subject to lay-off may elect to be reduced in rank to their last held civil service rank, in which case the lay-off rules shall be applied to that rank or class of position.
E. The chief of each department and employees with civil service classifications who are holding non-civil service positions under Section 2.48.080 shall retain the seniority of their most recent civil service classification, if any, for applying rules for lay-off or reduction in rank.
F. In the best interests of the city, the commission may provide exceptions in its rules to the order of lay-off to retain employees who have special skills.