(A) Employees who have been laid off or have, by virtue of exercising their displacement rights, been displaced to a lower classification in their classification series, shall be placed on appropriate layoff lists. Those employees with the most retention points within each category of order of layoff, as established in section 124.323 of the Revised Code, shall be placed at the top of the layoff list to be followed by employees ranked in descending total retention order. Laid-off employees shall be placed on layoff lists for each classification in the classification series equal to or lower than the classification in which the employee was employed at the time of layoff.

(B) An employee who is laid off retains reinstatement rights in the agency from which the employee was laid off. Reinstatement rights continue for one year from the date of layoff. During this one-year period, in any layoff jurisdiction in which an appointing authority has an employee on a layoff list, the appointing authority shall not hire or promote anyone into a position within that classification until all laid-off persons on a layoff list for that classification who are qualified to perform the duties of the position are reinstated or decline the position when it is offered.

For an exempt employee, as defined in section 124.152 of the Revised Code, who has reinstatement rights into a bargaining unit classification, the exempt employee's recall jurisdiction shall be the counties in which the exempt employee indicates willingness to accept reinstatement as determined by the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

(C) Each laid-off or displaced employee, in addition to reinstatement rights within the employee's appointing authority, has the right to reemployment with any other state agency, board, commission, or independent institution described in division (B)(1) of section 124.326 of the Revised Code, if the employee meets all applicable position-specific minimum qualifications developed by the other agency, board, commission, or independent institution and reviewed for validity by the department of administrative services or, in the absence of position-specific minimum qualifications so developed and reviewed, meets the qualifications described in the applicable classification, but only in the same classification from which the employee was initially laid off or displaced. Layoff lists for each appointing authority must be exhausted before other jurisdiction reemployment layoff lists are used.

(D) Any employee accepting or declining reinstatement to the same classification and same appointment type from which the employee was laid off or displaced shall be removed from the appointing authority's layoff list.

(E) Any employee accepting or declining reemployment to the same classification and the same appointment type from which the employee was laid off or displaced shall be removed from the layoff list for the jurisdiction in which the employee accepted or declined that reemployment as determined under division (C) of this section.

(F) An employee who does not exercise the option to displace under section 124.324 of the Revised Code shall only be entitled to reinstatement or reemployment in the classification from which the employee was displaced or laid off.

(G) Except as otherwise provided in this division, an employee who declines reinstatement to a classification lower in the classification series than the classification from which the employee was laid off or displaced, thereafter is only entitled to reinstatement to a classification higher, up to and including the classification from which the employee was laid off or displaced, in the classification series than the classification that was declined. This division does not apply when an employee, who was a full-time employee at the time of layoff or displacement, declines reinstatement in a part-time position.

(H) Any employee reinstated or reemployed under this section shall not serve a probationary period upon reinstatement or reemployment, except that an employee laid off during an original or promotional probationary period shall begin a new probationary period.

(I) For the purposes of this section, employees whose salary or wage is not paid directly by warrant of the director of budget and management shall be placed on layoff lists of their appointing authority only.

(J) A state agency shall notify an employee recalled from layoff of the offer of reinstate mentor reemployment either by certified letter or, if the agency has record of an internet identifier of record associated with the employee, by ordinary mail and by that internet identifier of record. As used in this division, "internet identifier of record" has the same meaning as in section 9.312 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 34, §1, eff. 11/2/2018.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999; 12-01-2006; 07-01-2007.