Seniority
Overview
ABX values the service of employees by recognizing seniority for certain benefits and employment decisions. The following guidelines have been created to provide consistency in the establishment and the use of seniority.
Core Requirements
When seniority is used in giving preference to employees, it will be applied consistently.
Company seniority, job classification seniority and job family seniority are based upon service as a part-time or full-time employee. Casual or temporary time is not recognized in calculating seniority.
Seniority continues to accrue during Company approved leaves of absence.
Seniority is lost when an employee terminates.
If an employee is rehired, seniority starts over based upon the date of rehire into a part-time or full-time position.
If an employee is on a layoff status and turns down the first offer of recall, company seniority, job classification seniority and job family seniority will stop accruing. At the time the employee accepts a recall and returns to work, all previously accrued seniority will be adjusted for the period of time elapsed from the first turndown.
In cases where two or more employees have the same seniority date, the following tiebreakers will be used to determine the order of company seniority, job classification seniority or job family seniority.
 | First, company seniority date will be used as the tiebreaker for job classification and job family seniority. |
| Second, casual or temporary date of hire providing employment was continuous. |
| Third, date of birth giving the oldest employee more seniority. |
| Lastly, if seniority is still equal at this point, the employee whose last name comes first in alphabetical order will be deemed to have seniority. |
Company Seniority
Company seniority starts with the date you are hired as a regular part-time or full-time employee and continues to accrue until employment is terminated. Your company seniority date is used for accrual of vacation benefits, vacation scheduling, service awards, job selection in cases of equal qualification, and other employment decisions where seniority should be given preference.
Job Family Seniority
Job family seniority is used only in conjunction with the Hourly Layoff Policy and applies to hourly employees on step scales and some exempt job classifications. If you are hired into a position that is in a job family, your job family seniority begins with the full-time or part-time date of hire or entry into the job family, excluding casual or temporary time. In the event of a layoff, preference would be given to maintaining job security for our most senior, experienced employees. The Hourly Layoff Guidelines has detailed information about job family seniority.
Job Classification Seniority
If you work in departments (such as Aircraft Maintenance and Airpark Services) that conduct shift and days off bidding, you may also have a job classification seniority date. Your job classification seniority is the period of time you accrue in a basic job function and is used only for selecting shifts or days off.
If you are a new hire, your JCS date starts with the date you are hired as a regular part-time or full-time employee into a basic job function (such as Lead, Mechanic, Storekeeper, Junior Storekeeper, Industrial Cleaner). You accrue JCS until you transfer out of that job function or terminate.
After you are hired, if you transfer from one job classification into another, your JCS date in your new job would be based on the date you accept the job. (Example: Employee A accepts the position of Mechanic on June 1, but is not released from his current ABX job until June 15. The employee's JCS date as Mechanic is June 1).
However, if multiple jobs are filled from the same requisition, the date the first job offer is accepted would be the JCS date for all the internal employees who accept the jobs. The exception would be an employee who delays his or her acceptance of an offer beyond a few days, and in that case, his or her JCS date would be the date of acceptance.
(Example: Four openings for mechanics are filled from the same requisition. An opening is first offered to Employee A on September 1 and he immediately accepts. Employees B & C are offered jobs on September 3 and immediately accept. The JCS date for all three employees is September 1, the date the first job was accepted. However, employee D is offered the job on September 3, but does not accept until September 6. Because Employee D delayed his acceptance until September 6, September 6 becomes his JCS date.
Department management will determine if shift bidding is appropriate for their respective areas, how often bids will be conducted, the staff needed on each shift, and the schedules.
Due to growth and/or operational needs, it may become necessary to revise classifications. These changes will be thought out carefully and implemented with the least disruption to the work force as practically possible. This may include consideration of grandfathering prior seniority ranking. These changes require approval by the Vice President or Director.
JCS and the ability to satisfactorily perform the work required for the job shall govern the ability to select shifts and/or days off. Specialized expertise or training would be enforced only when operational needs necessitate a certain shift assignment.
Employees holding a Lead position will also continue to accrue classification seniority in the position they lead for the duration of their Lead assignment.
Certain employment changes can affect JCS.
| All JCS is lost if an employee resigns or is terminated, voluntarily accepts a lower position, or takes a job outside the job classification for more than 24 months. |
| If an employee voluntarily takes a lateral job or promotion outside the job classification and returns to his or her former job classification in less than 24 months, previous JCS will be adjusted to exclude the time worked outside of the job classification. |
| If an employee returns to his or her former position or job classification due to an involuntary workforce reduction or reorganization within ABX, the employee would return with the same JCS date the employee held before. Additionally, the employee will also maintain JCS in the eliminated position until such time the employee declines that position if it is available again, or is not reselected. |
Employee Responsibility
| Be familiar with your company seniority date and how it is used in the accrual of vacation benefits, vacation scheduling, and other seniority related benefits. |
| If your department uses JCS, be familiar with your JCS date and the shift bidding process your department uses. |
| If you have questions about your seniority date, talk to your supervisor immediately to get it resolved. |
Leadership Responsibility
| Understand company seniority and apply it consistently within your department when you are scheduling vacation, or using company seniority for any other appropriate activities. |
| Understand and apply JCS consistently if your department uses it for days off and shift bidding purposes. |
| If employees report any errors with seniority dates, work with your department management to resolve their concerns. |
Updated Nov. 10, 2005