Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations

Last updated
Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations
Seal of Wisconsin.svg
Agency overview
FormedFebruary 14, 1978 (1978-02-14)
Preceding agencies
DissolvedAugust 24, 2003 (2003-08-24)
Superseding agencies
Headquarters345 W. Washington Ave.
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
43°4′17.04″N89°23′16.584″W / 43.0714000°N 89.38794000°W / 43.0714000; -89.38794000
Employees78 (2003) [1]
Annual budget $14,203,300 (2003) [1]
Website Agency website (Archived Feb. 2003)

The Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations was an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for all personnel matters in the state government, including civil service qualifications, affirmative action and non-discrimination issues, collective bargaining with state employee unions, and other human resources services.

Contents

The department was demoted from a cabinet-level agency in 2003, most of the responsibilities were transferred to the Wisconsin Department of Administration as the Office of State Employment Relations (OSER), which was subsequently converted into the Division of Personnel Management in 2015.

History

The Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations traced its origins back to the creation of the state Civil Service Commission by 1905 Wisconsin Act 363 . [2] It was a key piece of Governor Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette's progressive era reform agenda. The Civil Service Commission implemented a civil service exam and required that future state government hiring and promotions would be determined by merit, rather than purely at the whims of the governor under the spoils system. [1]

In 1929, the Civil Service Commission was replaced by the Bureau of Personnel, which was created by 1929 Wisconsin Act 465 . [3] The Bureau remained independent until 1959, when it was folded into the new Wisconsin Department of Administration, created by 1959 Wisconsin Act 228 as part of Governor Gaylord Nelson's attempts to streamline the state bureaucracy. [1] [4] Later in that same legislative term, they enacted 1959 Wisconsin Act 509, often referred to as the "Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act", which created the right for state employee unions to bargain for benefits and compensation with the state, and entrusted that bargaining power to the Bureau of Personnel. [5] Wisconsin was the first state in the country to allow public employee unions to negotiate with state and local governments. [6]

In 1972, Governor Patrick Lucey issued an executive order creating an affirmative action unit in the Bureau of Personnel, to encourage the hiring and promotion of women and minority candidates. The order also encouraged state agencies to designate an affirmative action officer and develop an affirmative action plan. [1]

The Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations was separated from the Department of Administration and created as an independent cabinet-level department by 1977 Wisconsin Act 196 , signed by Governor Martin J. Schreiber on February 15, 1978. [7] The Department took on new responsibilities as part of Tommy Thompson's Wisconsin Works (welfare-to-work) program in the 1990s.

In 2003, new governor Jim Doyle proposed eliminating the department as part of a budget-cutting proposal. The department was formally eliminated in the state's 2003 budget, and the department ceased to exist on August 24, 2003. Most functions were transferred to the new Office of State Employment Relations (OSER) in the Wisconsin Department of Administration. The final secretary of the Department of Employment Relations was named the director of OSER. [8]

The Office's mission was radically changed by administration of Governor Scott Walker, whose signature law, 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 , ended collective bargaining rights for state employees and forbid the state government from negotiating union contracts with public employee unions. In 2015, the Office of State Employment Relations was replaced by the Division of Personnel Management. Then in 2016, Walker further amended state civil service rules, signing into law a bill to eliminate the state civil service exam. [9]

Organization

Leadership

The department was led by a secretary, appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Wisconsin Senate. The secretary was empowered to hire and fire the administrators of the Division of Affirmative Action and the Division of Compensation and Labor Relations, at their own discretion. The administrator of the Division of Merit Recruitment and Selection required a merit-based process, and would be appointed by the governor with Senate confirmation, and would then have a guaranteed five-year term. [1]

Divisions

Administrative Services

The Division of Administrative Services managed internal department operations, including spending, accounting, information technology, personnel, payroll, procurement, planning, analysis, and preparation of the budget. [1]

Affirmative Action

The Division of Affirmative Action administered the state's equal employment opportunity and affirmative action program, and reported annually on state progress toward affirmative action goals. It set standards for state executive agencies, for the University of Wisconsin System, and for legislative service agencies, and provided technical assistance to agencies to develop and implement affirmative action plans, train supervisors on equal opportunity practices, and monitor agency programs. The division also provided staff for the state Council on Affirmative Action. [1]

Compensation and Labor Relations

The Division of Compensation and Labor Relations was responsible for developing the state employee compensation plan and policies, and ensuring state compliance with federal state and family medical leave policies. The division was also responsible for representing the state as an employer in negotiations with state labor unions, although the Legislature still had final power to ratify or reject labor contracts. They also represented the state in arbitration proceedings, conducted labor relations training programs for state employees in supervisory positions, and coordinated the state's Labor-Management Cooperation Program. [1]

Merit Recruitment and Selection

The Division of Merit Recruitment and Selection was responsible for hiring most state employees, referred to as the "classified" employees—those classified as requiring civil service merit-based hiring processes. It was empowered to establish policies to ensure fair competition for civil service positions and to ensure the hiring of a qualified and diverse workforce, and to develop and administer the state's job classifications and pay ranges. To support their mission, they were tasked with developing and administering the state's civil service examinations and assessments, then provided lists of qualified candidates to the agencies for their selection. The division was also tasked with administering the state's performance evaluation program, administering layoffs and other employee status changes, investigating potential violations of civil service rules, administering the state code of ethics for classified employees, and training state agencies. The division also supported the Wisconsin City County Services program, which provided personnel support services to local government agencies for a fee, and assisted state agencies in complying with protective occupation determinations and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. They also became responsible for the State Employment Options Program as part of the Wisconsin Works (welfare-to-work) program, to help welfare or food stamp recipients in obtaining state employment. [1]

Secretaries

OrderSecretaryTook officeLeft officeGovernorNotes
1Linda Reivitz19781979 Martin J. Schreiber [10]
2Hugh Henderson Jr.19791983 Lee S. Dreyfus [11]
3 Howard Fuller 19831986 Tony Earl [12] [13]
-Peggy Howard Moore19861987 Tony Earl Acting secretary. [14]
4John M. Tries19871988 Tommy Thompson [15]
5Constance P. Beck19881991 Tommy Thompson [16]
6 Jon E. Litscher 19911999 Tommy Thompson [17]
7Peter D. Fox19992003 Tommy Thompson [18]
8Karen E. Timberlake20032003 Jim Doyle Last secretary. [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2003). "The Executive". State of Wisconsin 2003–2004 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 408–410. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  2. ↑ An Act in relation to the civil service of the state of Wisconsin and making an appropriation (PDF) (Act 363). Wisconsin Legislature. 1905. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  3. ↑ An Act ... relating to a merit system of state employment, creating a bureau of personnel in the executive department and making an appropriation (PDF) (Act 465). Wisconsin Legislature. 1929. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  4. ↑ An Act ... relating to the abolition of the department of budget and accounts, bureau of engineering, bureau of personnel, bureau of purchases, division of departmental research and the creation of a state department of administration, a board on government operations and making appropriations (Act 228). Wisconsin Legislature. 1959. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  5. ↑ An Act ... relating to rights of employes of local units of government to form and join labor organizations (Act 509). Wisconsin Legislature. 1959. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  6. ↑ "State and Local Government Employment Relations Law (Under 2011 Acts 10 and 32)" (PDF). Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. January 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  7. ↑ An Act ... relating to eliminating the personnel functions of the department of administration, altering the functions of the personnel board, creating a department of employment relations, a division of personnel, an affirmative action council and a personnel commission, making diverse changes in the statutes relating to state personnel procedures, changing the award of veterans preference points in state and local civil service examination, granting rule-making authority and transferring and making appropriations (Act 196). Wisconsin Legislature. 1977. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  8. ↑ Weier, Anita (August 26, 2003). "2 state departments vanish". The Capital Times . p. 3. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Opoien, Jessie (October 7, 2015). "Five things to know about the proposed overhaul of Wisconsin's civil service system". The Capital Times . p. 22. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Simms, Patricia (February 15, 1978). "More changes forecast for state Civil Service". Wisconsin State Journal . p. 4. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Pommer, Matt (December 22, 1978). "Musolf gets top Dreyfus post". The Capital Times . p. 1. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Hunter, John Patrick (December 9, 1982). "Angry Earl defends cabinet appointees, rebukes critics". The Capital Times . p. 41. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Fuller will take job at Milwaukee Tech". Wisconsin State Journal . August 28, 1986. p. 25. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Wineke, William R. (September 21, 1986). "Peggy Moore". Wisconsin State Journal . p. 78. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Thompson names personnel boss". Wisconsin State Journal . December 23, 1986. p. 19. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Revenue Secretary Karen Case resigns". The Capital Times . August 26, 1988. p. 2. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Tommy taps new civil service chief". The Capital Times . December 18, 1990. p. 13. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Callender, David (December 28, 1998). "Gov names Fox state labor czar". The Capital Times . p. 1. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Milam, Stan (September 29, 2003). "State job Web site is updated to help applicants in process". Wisconsin State Journal . p. 36. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
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