WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1987-1988


     History: Although the Department of Employment Relations was established
in 1977, its
  antecedents extend quite far back in the state government. Wisconsin replaced
its Civil Service
  Commission, created in 1905, by a Bureau of Personnel in 1929 (Chapter
465). A separate
  Personnel Board was created within the bureau. In 1959, Chapter 228 placed
both the board and
  the bureau within the newly created Department of Administration. In 1961,
the board was
  removed from the department, but was subsequently attached to it for administrative
purposes
  by the 1967 executive branch reorganization act (Chapter 75). The Department
of Employment
  Relations was created by Chapter 196, Laws of 1977, which essentially transferred
the organiza-
  tional units and functions of the Employe Relations Division (including
the Bureaus of Person-
  nel, Collective Bargaining, and Human Resource Services) and the Affirmative
Action Office
  from the Department of Administration to the new department. A statutory
Affirmative Action
  Council was also established in the department, succeeding the former Affirmative
Action Execu-
  tive Commission established by executive order. Under 1983 Wisconsin Act
27, the Affirmative
  Action Council was made advisory to the secretary. Act 27 also realigned
functions of the for-
  mer Division of Personnel by assignment of classification and compensation
responsibility to the
  secretary and placing recruitment and examination functions under the newly
created Division
  of Merit Recruitment and Selection.
    Organization: The Department of Employment Relations is administered
by a secretary, who
  is appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate
to serve at the governor's
  pleasure. The secretary selects a deputy and executive assistant to serve
at the secretary's plea-
  sure. The department is organized into 5 divisions: Merit Recruitment and
Selection, Classifica-
  tion and Compensation, Collective Bargaining, Affirmative Action, and Administrative
Services,
  and 2 offices: Employe Development and Training, and Legal Services. The
Divisions of Classifi-
  cation and Compensation, Collective Bargaining, and Affirmative Action
are headed by unclas-
  sified division administrators who are appointed by the secretary to serve
at his or her pleasure.
  The administrator of the statutorily created Division of Merit Recruitment
and Selection is ap-
  pointed to a 5-year term by the governor with the advice and consent of
the Senate, from a
  register certified by the Personnel Board, which prepares and conducts
the examination in ac-
  cordance with requirements specified for classified positions. All other
employes of the depart-
  ment are in the classified service.
  The Council on Affirmative Action consists of 15 members, who serve terms
of 3 years. The
  president of the Senate, speaker of the Assembly, and minority leaders
of the Senate and Assem-
  bly each appoint one council member. The governor appoints the other 11
members.
  Agency Responsibility: Under the overall direction of the secretary, the
department is respon-
  sible for personnel and employment relations policies and programs for
the state government as
  an employer. The department's primary mandate is to provide state governmental
agencies with
  competent personnel who will furnish state services to citizens as fairly,
efficiently and effectively
  as possible. The department achieves this goal through the administration
of a civil service
  system which assures that jobs are filled on the basis of merit, that the
value of employes' work is
  properly determined, that employe performance and training needs are adequately
evaluated so
  each employe can achieve his or her full potential, and that managers have
appropriate personnel
  management tools to achieve the state's program objectives. In administering
the civil service
system, the department has the responsibility to carry out the state's equal
employment opportu-
nity mandate and, through affirmative action, to correct imbalances in the
state's workforce and
eliminate the present effects of past discrimination. The department represents
the executive
branch as an employer in relations under the State Employment Labor Relations
Act.
   Unit Functions: The Secretary's Office provides policy and program direction
to the depart-
ment's divisions and offices.
   The Division of Affirmative Action operates affirmative action programs.
It prepares an annual
summary to the governor and the Legislature on agencies' affirmative action
program accom-
plishments, future goals and recommendations; implements equal opportunity/affirmative
ac-
tion executive orders including development of planning standards for the
executive agencies,
university system, and legislative service agencies; provides support to
the Affirmative Action
Council; implements handicapped reporting guidelines; provides training and
technical assis-
tance, including assistance to internal agency committees, and monitoring
of training for new
supervisors; and assists in and monitors the implementation of state affirmative
action plans to
ensure agency compliance with the administrative rules and affirmative action
plan standards.


542