The state civil service and making an appropriation. (FE)

1. This bill replaces competitive examinations with competitive procedures.

Under current law, subject to certain exceptions, appointments to and promotions in the classified service must be made according to merit and fitness, which must be ascertained by competitive examinations. This bill changes the manner that must be used to ascertain the merit and fitness of applicants from competitive examinations to competitive procedures.

2. This bill requires applicants for positions in the classified service to submit an application and resume to the bureau.

3. Unless a certain conviction record disqualifies applicants from a civil service position, this bill prohibits the director of the bureau from asking an applicant on an application, or otherwise, to supply information about the applicant's conviction record before the applicant is certified for the position.

4. This bill provides a preference for veterans and certain spouses of veterans in the hiring process for a classified position in the civil service. Under the bill, if a veteran or qualifying spouse of a veteran is included on a certification list, the appointing authority must offer an interview to the veteran or spouse of a veteran.

Additionally, after interviewing candidates for a position, if minimum qualifications, skills, abilities, competencies, and knowledge are equal among the candidates, an appointing authority shall give a preference to the veteran. These preferences replace the preference system under current law, under which veterans and qualifying spouses of veterans receive preference points. Under current law, preference points are applied during the process of creating a certification list for a position.

5. Under the bill, before making an offer of employment to an individual who currently holds a position in the civil service, an appointing authority must review the individual's personnel file. This bill also requires the administrator of DPM and the director of the bureau to provide an appointing authority with access to the personnel files of such employees.

6. This bill changes the general deadline for making appointments from 60 days after certification to 30 days after certification. The bill also requires the director of the bureau to use procedures designed to certify applicants for a vacant permanent position within 30 days of receiving a request from an appointing authority, rather than within 45 days under current law.

Probation, reinstatement, restoration, and layoffs.

1. This bill changes the standard probationary period for all original and promotional appointments to permanent and seasonal positions in the classified service from six months to two years with a potential waiver after one year. The bill also changes the probationary period for employees in supervisory or management positions from one year with a potential waiver after six months to two years with a potential waiver after one year.

2. This bill limits reinstatement privileges to permanent employees in the classified service who are on layoff status and reduces the eligibility period for reinstatement privileges to three years following the date of the layoff. Under current law, permanent classified service employees who leave the classified service without any delinquency or misconduct have reinstatement privileges for a five-year period from the date the employee leaves the classified service. The bill eliminates reinstatement privileges for permanent classified service employees who leave the classified service without any delinquency or misconduct for reasons other than layoff. This bill also eliminates reinstatement privileges for an employee who leaves the classified service to fill an elective position. Under the bill, the changes to reinstatement privileges do not apply to classified employees who leave the classified service before the effective date of the bill.

3. This bill eliminates restoration rights for permanent employees in the classified service who are laid off on or after the effective date of the bill. Under current law, a permanent employee in the classified service who is on layoff status has restoration rights for the three-year period following the layoff.

4. This bill requires appointing authorities to determine layoff status primarily based on job performance, after which an appointing authority may consider disciplinary records, seniority, and ability. Under current law, the order of layoff may be determined by seniority, performance, any combination of seniority and performance, or by other factors.

Just cause and discipline.

1. The bill requires the administrator of DPM to establish standards for progressive discipline plans that are prepared by agencies and applied to all employees in the classified service. The bill specifically requires that the standards address progressive discipline for both personal conduct and work performance that is inadequate, unsuitable, or inferior. The bill also requires that each appointing authority prepare a progressive discipline plan for the appointing authority's agency that complies with the administrator's standards.

2. Under current law, an employer may remove, suspend without pay, discharge, reduce the base pay of, or demote (take an adverse employment action against) a permanent classified employee and certain assistant district attorneys and assistant state public defenders only for just cause. This bill expressly states that an employer has just cause to take an adverse employment action against an employee for work performance or personal conduct that an appointing authority determines to be inadequate, unsuitable, or inferior, but only after the appointing authority imposes progressive discipline that complies with standards established by the administrator of DPM. This bill also expressly states that an employer has just cause to take an adverse employment action against an employee without imposing progressive discipline for specific conduct. Such conduct includes theft of agency property, falsifying agency records, and while on duty, harassing or intentionally inflicting physical harm on another person.

3. This bill changes the threshold for considering an employee's position abandoned and disciplining the employee for failing to report for work as scheduled without contacting a supervisor from 5 consecutive working days during a calendar year to 3 working days in a calendar year.

Grievance process for certain adverse employment actions.

This bill creates a specific grievance process for classified employees to challenge adverse employment actions. To begin the grievance process, an employee must file a complaint challenging the adverse employment decision with the employee's appointing authority no later than 14 days after the employee becomes aware of, or should have become aware of, the adverse employment decision. The appointing authority then conducts an investigation, meets with the employee in person, and issues a written decision no later than 14 days after receiving the complaint. To appeal an appointing authority's decision, the employee must file a complaint with the administrator of DPM no later than 14 days after the appointing authority issues its decision. Within 30 days of receiving a timely complaint, the administrator must review the complaint and issue a written decision. To appeal the administrator's decision, an appointing authority or employee must file an appeal with the Employment Relations Commission (WERC) not later than 14 days after receiving the administrator's decision. If an employee fails to satisfy any of the deadlines described in the grievance process, the employee is deemed to have waived his or her right to appeal the adverse employment action.

If WERC determines that all of the procedural requirements for an appeal of an adverse employment decision have been satisfied, it will hear the employee's appeal under its standard process for state civil service appeals except that WERC must issue a decision on an appeal of an adverse employment decision no later than 120 days after the appeal is filed.

Discretionary merit award program.

This bill requires the administrator of DPM to create a discretionary merit award program to provide additional funding to state agencies for the purpose of providing lump sum monetary awards to classified employees whose performance exceeds agency expectations. Under the bill, each state agency must certify to the administrator the amount of additional funding the agency needs to make lump sum discretionary merit awards to classified employees. The administrator then distributes the additional funding appropriated for this purpose to state agencies to make the lump sum merit awards to classified employees.

Other changes:

1. This bill adds to the current employee performance evaluation program a requirement that each appointing authority conduct an annual performance evaluation of each employee appointed by the appointing authority.

2. This bill requires an appointing authority to permanently maintain employee files, and subject to certain exceptions, prohibits the removal of disciplinary records from employee personnel files.

3. This bill eliminates the requirement that, if the director of the bureau makes certain findings, competition for a vacancy in the classified service must be limited to members of the classified service, and it eliminates the authority of the director to limit competition for promotional opportunities in certain circumstances.

4. This bill requires DOA to consult with each state agency to develop a plan, by no later than January 1, 2017, for assuming responsibility for services relating to human resources. This bill also requires, by January 1, 2017, DOA to develop a plan to assume responsibility for administering payroll services, finance services, budget and procurement functions, and information technology services for certain state agencies and boards.

5. This bill requires the administrator of DPM and the director of the bureau to review all of the following by no later than January 1, 2017:

a. The classification of all positions in the state civil service.

b. The Wisconsin Human Resources Handbook.

c. The feasibility of requiring all agencies to use electronic personnel files and a uniform personnel evaluation system.

d. The 2015-17 compensation plan.