GOVERNOR'S VETO EXPLANATION

Pursuant to § 6 of Article V of the Constitution of Virginia, I am vetoing House Bill 2089.

House Bill 2089 would allow state employees with more seniority to displace, or "bump" employees with less seniority in the event of layoffs. With enactment of the workforce Transition Act providing substantial voluntary and involuntary severance benefits to state employees, the perceived need for this legislation has been dramatically reduced.

The provision of severance benefits as a means of protecting the interests of incumbent state employees is far superior to the "bumping" policy that would be reinstituted under the enrolled bill. "Bumping" inevitably causes uncertainty and disruption in the workplace, as employees with less seniority worry that they will fall victim to the domino effect of successive displacements of more senior employees. The unsettling effects of a single layoff are multiplied as successive employees exercise their "bumping" rights.

With the provision of severance benefits, first through my administrative action and now under the Workforce Transition Act, the adverse impact of layoffs can be reduced without the detrimental consequences of "bumping." Accordingly, I am disapproving this bill.