Layoffs at a Public Agency (California)

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.

Our city is going through some rough economic times, like many others. We are looking at layoffs city-wide affecting every division and almost every classification. Even though I have been there 5 years I have the least seniority, there were 2 vacancies that have since been eliminated as they would rather use the cost-savings approach of built in overtime.

Our union has no layoff provisions other than to say we will follow the city's HR guidelines. Those guidelines state that layoffs are done by classification and in the following order: 1st to be layed off are 1) temporary/seasonal, 2) permanent part-time, 3) probationary employees, 4) tenured fulltime employees.

For some reason they are planning on laying me off even though we have a couple part-time employees (non-benefitted) who they plan to keep. My question is that if the city violates their own policy by laying me off in this method do I have a reasonable chance of winning a wrongful termination law suit? Also, do I need to bring it up to them (the violation of their HR rules/regs) or can I just let myself get laid off and then file a suit (obviously it will take a long time to wind through court).

They will not save as much money laying off part time workers as they do full time/benefitted workers. You can ask your union if they can intervene, but if not, nothing illegal has taken place.

The law does not require that employees be selected for layoff based on any particular criteria. As long as the employee does not select who is and is not laid off based on a characteristic protected by law, the employer can draw names out of a hat or throw darts at an employee list posted on the wall as far as the law is concerned.

If you have a bona fide and enforceable contract that guarantees that no full time employee will be laid off as long as there are still part time employees working, then show that contract to a local attorney. However, laying you off before a part time employee does not constitute wrongful termination as far as the law is concerned.

I was thinking of it as wrongful termination due to a breach of contract. Since we are union employees we are covered by an MOU, the layoff portion of the MOU states we will follow the HR rules/regs and those rules state that Part Time employees are to be laid off prior to permanent employees.

I was pretty sure this would constitute a failure to follow the contract. What I wasn't sure of was if I had to show I suffered an extended loss of income. If I manage to get employed within a few weeks or month of being terminated would that negate any claim?

It sounds like I may or may not have a case, guess I'll check with the union and go sit down with a labor law attorney to get some advice.

If you have a bona fide contract and it is broken, then you have a breach of contract claim, not a wrongful termination claim. A wrongful termination means that a LAW was violated, not a contract and not a policy.

I can only tell you what the law says. I have not read your contract or CBA.