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In addition to seniority, a city should conceder which employees hold a license (class A wastewater operator, building official, commercial drivers license, etc.) or have special training that may be essential to the provision of certain services to the public. If an employee is less senior than others, but happens to be the only one qualified to perform a necessary function, including that employee in the layoff may not be an option. For those cities with public swi mrrring pools or water parks, it is important to remember the sing requirements associated with operating those kinds of facilities. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry OIL prevents lifegauds under age 18 from supervising other lifeguards. DOLI has also indicated that said supervisor cannot be a volunteer, but must be a lifeguard employed by the city. In addition, there are rules from the Department of Health that play a role in the city's staffing of such facilities. As the city is going through the process of determining which employees to include in the layoff, it is important to remain aware of what the resulting layoff group is looking like. For example, if the criteria the city is using to determine who will be laid off results in only employees over 50 being impacted, the criteria should be revisited. Likewise, if the layoff group appears to be comprised mainly of women of childbearing age or includes only the employees who recently tried to organize a union, the city should rethink the criteria being used. Finally, the city needs to consider employees who may currently be away from their jobs with the city for whatever reason (family leave, military duty, etc.). If the layoff' will impact employees who are on a medical related (or other) leave of absence it is important to work with the city attorney. Each situation may be covered by a variety of state and federal laws C,11NM 0 encans with Disabilities Act, Minnesota Human Rights Act, Workers Compensation, Family and Medical Leave Act, etc.) and should be considered on a case -by -case basis. C. Some policies or union contracts may specifically permit employees with more seniority to &Gb pI7 employees in equal or lower job classes and assume their jobs to avoid being laid off. However, it is more common to find layoff lanL 'fie an a contrast that specifics that layoffs will be done according to seniority within a job class. This by itself would not give employees " ;humping rights. "' D. Review existing contracts. A city may have staffing responsibilities related to certain contracts and programs-. For example, the Minnesota Departriaent of Building Codes and Standards has contracts with many city building departments to perform plan review and/or inspections of public buildings. These contracts are based on two criteria: the city must employ a certified building official and roust have adequate staff' to provide these services. A layoff may cause a city to be out of compliance with such a contrad. Other city contracts such as those for police and fire services may have solar provisions. -4-