1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employee relations; modifying employee 
  1.3             relations data practices; creating a selection process 
  1.4             for certain civil service positions; modifying 
  1.5             provisions and deadlines of a pilot project; allowing 
  1.6             donation of accrued vacation leave to sick leave 
  1.7             accounts; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 
  1.8             43A.15, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 
  1.9             1995 Supplement, section 13.67; Laws 1995, chapter 
  1.10            248, article 13, section 2, subdivisions 5 and 6; 
  1.11            proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.12            chapter 43A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.13            section 43A.182. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.16  13.67, is amended to read: 
  1.17     13.67 [EMPLOYEE RELATIONS DATA.] 
  1.18     The following data collected, created, or maintained by the 
  1.19  department of employee relations are classified as nonpublic 
  1.20  data pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 9:  
  1.21     (a) The commissioner's plan prepared by the department, 
  1.22  pursuant to section 3.855, which governs the compensation and 
  1.23  terms and conditions of employment for employees not covered by 
  1.24  collective bargaining agreements until the plan is submitted to 
  1.25  the legislative coordinating commission on employee relations; 
  1.26     (b) Data pertaining to grievance or interest arbitration 
  1.27  that has not been presented to the arbitrator or other party 
  1.28  during the arbitration process; 
  1.29     (c) Notes and preliminary drafts of reports prepared during 
  2.1   personnel investigations and personnel management reviews of 
  2.2   state departments and agencies; 
  2.3      (d) The managerial plan prepared by the department pursuant 
  2.4   to section 43A.18 that governs the compensation and terms and 
  2.5   conditions of employment for employees in managerial positions, 
  2.6   as specified in section 43A.18, subdivision 3, until the plan is 
  2.7   submitted to the legislative coordinating commission on employee 
  2.8   relations; and 
  2.9      (e) Claims experience and all related information received 
  2.10  from carriers and claims administrators participating in either 
  2.11  the state group insurance plan plans or the public employees 
  2.12  insurance program as defined in chapter 43A, and survey 
  2.13  information collected from employees and employers participating 
  2.14  in these plans and programs, except when the department 
  2.15  determines that release of the data will not be detrimental to 
  2.16  the plan plans or program programs. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 43A.15, is 
  2.18  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.19     Subd. 15.  [POSITION-SPECIFIC QUALIFYING APPOINTMENTS.] (a) 
  2.20  An appointing authority or the commissioner on behalf of an 
  2.21  appointing authority may design and conduct an unscored 
  2.22  selection process to identify those applicants whose 
  2.23  qualifications are most related to an individual vacancy covered 
  2.24  by one of the plans established pursuant to section 43A.18, 
  2.25  subdivisions 2 and 3.  Applicants will be considered only for 
  2.26  the specific vacancy for which the selection process is 
  2.27  conducted.  The selection process may be open to all applicants 
  2.28  or may be limited to current employees as described in section 
  2.29  43A.10, subdivision 6.  The appointing authority or the 
  2.30  commissioner on behalf of an appointing authority shall: 
  2.31     (1) publicize the selection process in a manner that 
  2.32  attracts a sufficient number of qualified applicants to meet the 
  2.33  needs of the civil service; 
  2.34     (2) specify the form, procedures, deadline, and any 
  2.35  limitations to apply; 
  2.36     (3) develop and administer a job-related process to 
  3.1   identify those individuals whose qualifications best match the 
  3.2   requirements of the vacancy; 
  3.3      (4) notify all candidates in writing as to whether their 
  3.4   qualifications are sufficient to be considered for appointment; 
  3.5   and 
  3.6      (5) upon request, provide candidates with an explanation of 
  3.7   the methods used in the selection process.  
  3.8      (b) Candidates notified that they are not being considered 
  3.9   may submit additional information regarding their qualifications 
  3.10  for the vacancy.  If the vacancy has not been filled, the 
  3.11  appointing authority may decide the candidate's qualifications 
  3.12  are sufficient to be considered for appointment. 
  3.13     Sec. 3.  Laws 1995, chapter 248, article 13, section 2, 
  3.14  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  3.15     Subd. 5.  [PILOT PROJECT.] During the biennium ending June 
  3.16  30, 1997, the human resources innovation committee established 
  3.17  under Laws 1993, chapter 301, section 1, subdivision 6, shall 
  3.18  designate state job classifications to be included in a one or 
  3.19  more pilot project projects.  Under this these pilot project 
  3.20  projects:  (1) resumes of applicants for positions to be filled 
  3.21  through a competitive open this process will be evaluated 
  3.22  through an objective computerized system that will identify 
  3.23  which applicants have the required skills; and (2) information 
  3.24  on applicants determined to have required skills will be 
  3.25  forwarded to the agency seeking to fill a vacancy, 
  3.26  without scoring or ranking these applicants, and without a limit 
  3.27  on the number of applicants that may be forwarded to the hiring 
  3.28  agency.  Laws or, rules, and procedures adopted under section 
  3.29  43A.04, subdivision 4, that govern recruitment, examination, 
  3.30  veterans preference, ranking of eligibles, and certification of 
  3.31  eligibles for competitive open positions do not apply to those 
  3.32  job classifications included in the pilot project projects.  
  3.33  Before designating a job classification under this subdivision, 
  3.34  the committee must assure that the hiring process for those job 
  3.35  classifications complies with the policies in subdivision 1. 
  3.36     Sec. 4.  Laws 1995, chapter 248, article 13, section 2, 
  4.1   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  4.2      Subd. 6.  [EVALUATION.] The commissioner of employee 
  4.3   relations, in consultation with the human resources innovation 
  4.4   committee, shall design and implement a system for evaluating 
  4.5   the success of the pilot project projects in subdivision 5.  By 
  4.6   October September 1, 1996, and October September 1, 1997, the 
  4.7   commissioner must report to the legislature on the pilot project 
  4.8   projects.  The report must:  
  4.9      (1) list job classifications subject to the each pilot 
  4.10  project, and the number of positions filled under in these job 
  4.11  classes under the pilot; 
  4.12     (2) evaluate the extent to which the project has projects 
  4.13  have been successful in maintaining a merit-based system in the 
  4.14  absence of traditional civil service laws and, rules, and 
  4.15  procedures adopted under section 43A.04, subdivision 4; 
  4.16     (3) quantify time and money saved and other costs involved 
  4.17  in the hiring process under the pilot project projects, as 
  4.18  compared to hiring under the traditional laws and rules; 
  4.19     (4) document the extent of complaints or problems arising 
  4.20  under the new system; and 
  4.21     (5) recommend any changes in laws or, rules, or procedures 
  4.22  adopted under section 43A.04, subdivision 4 needed to make 
  4.23  permanent the successes of the pilot project projects. 
  4.24     Sec. 5.  [43A.183] [VACATION DONATION SICK LEAVE ACCOUNT.] 
  4.25     A state employee may donate a portion of accrued vacation 
  4.26  leave to the sick leave account of another state employee.  The 
  4.27  commissioner shall establish procedures for eligibility and 
  4.28  administration of this program. 
  4.29     Sec. 6.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.30     Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 43A.182, is repealed. 
  4.31     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.32     Sections 3 and 5 are effective on the day following final 
  4.33  enactment.