As Denver Mayor Mike Johnston considers laying off city workers to offset a $200 million budget deficit for 2026, the city’s Office of Human Resources is proposing changes to the rules governing who loses their jobs first.
Last week, Denverite reported a new proposal that would strip seniority protections away in favor of a merit-based system for layoffs.
Now, the city is softening its language.
“There was never an intention to remove an employee’s length of service from consideration while adding performance history, skills, and abilities,” wrote Kathy Nesbitt, the executive director of the Office of Human Resources, in an email to Denverite. “But employees saw it differently and I heard their concerns. I wanted to be explicit in the rule to reassure that length of service will be considered.”
While seniority protections are still on the chopping block, new language in the proposal indicates years of service could still be considered when managers decide who to let go.
Initially, the OHR wrote in its draft regulations: “Length of service is only a factor in layoffs if one or more employees in the affected classification are eligible for military service credits.”
That sentence set off alarms for employees who had previously felt secure in their jobs because of their decades of service to the city. The line also contradicted other language in the proposal that suggested seniority could still be a factor.
The city’s human resources has now struck that sentence from the proposal.
“We have heard your concerns about ensuring that an employee’s length of service is recognized when layoffs are possible, and as a result of your input, we are amending the proposed rule change to include ‘length of service’ as a part of the evaluation criteria,” Nesbitt wrote city employees.
Still, a coalition of unions organizing worry officials are trying to ram through changes in how layoffs are conducted ahead of Jan. 1, 2026, when more city workers will gain the right to collective bargaining.
City leaders have defended the layoffs plan, saying that changing the criteria will ensure residents of the city get the best services possible.
“The city must make significant budget cuts of $200M by January 1, 2026,” Nesbitt wrote to Denverite. “Should layoffs become necessary, this rule change will ensure the city retains the top talent to do the work by considering length of service, performance history, skills and abilities.”
Johnston has supported the changes.
Here’s the new language, with the added change bolded by the city:
Supervisors and managers “shall evaluate and rank each employee according to how that employee’s performance history (including performance ratings and disciplinary history), skills, abilities, and length of service best align with the ongoing operational needs of the department or agency. If the appointing authority intends to first eliminate all limited and/or part-time positions in the affected classifications, the incumbents in those positions shall not be ranked.”
The changes to the proposal have not alleviated all concerns.
Karen Kindblade, who serves as a fiscal administrator at Denver Human Services, has worked for the city for 17 years.
“It feels troubling that you're trying to change the rules for layoffs right before you lay people off,” she said. “That doesn't seem quite fair, particularly in light of the fact that Denver voters pretty significantly passed a measure allowing city employees to collectively bargain.”
That law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Employee morale is down, as workers face furloughs and threats of impending layoffs, she added. Changing the seniority protections has only made matters worse.
Kindblade began working for the city just before the Great Recession and has been involved in both COVID-19 and migrant response efforts. Protections for senior staff have kept the brain trust employed and ensured continuity through various crises the city has faced.
The previous policy gave laid-off workers the right to be reinstated if economic conditions improved. The proposed rules strip this right, noting: “Employees or former employees who have been laid off are not entitled to reinstatement.”
“If this is all about the budget. Why wouldn't you want to be able to get those, those experienced, well-trained people back, if you could?” Kindblade wondered.
Other city workers Denverite spoke to on the condition of anonymity worried the changes would allow for favoritism.
Former mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón, who was once employed by the city, said adding years of service as a consideration is not the same as maintaining seniority protections.
“What that did was it just galvanized Denver city workers,” she said.
Next steps for the seniority proposal
The layoff rules are under consideration by the Career Services Board, the group that oversees the Office of Human Resources. OHR is technically independent of the mayor, but the board that oversees the office comprises five mayoral appointees.
The board will meet Wednesday morning for a public hearing where many city workers are expected to share their thoughts on the proposal.
Ahead of the committee meeting, several unions and community groups will be joining some city workers to protest the changes to the rules.
“We are listening and responding to feedback on this proposed rule change, and look forward to the public hearing which is essential to the process to ensure that all input is heard and considered,” Nesbitt wrote. “ While we are recommending the approval of these changes, the final decision rests with the Career Service Board.”
