1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; establishing a 
  1.3             settlement division in the office of administrative 
  1.4             hearings; transferring certain judges from the 
  1.5             department of labor and industry to the office of 
  1.6             administrative hearings; prohibiting layoffs and 
  1.7             demotions; transferring the small claims court from 
  1.8             the department of labor and industry to the office of 
  1.9             administrative hearings; transferring certain duties 
  1.10            and funds. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  [SETTLEMENT DIVISION; TRANSFER OF JUDGES.] 
  1.13     The office of administrative hearings shall establish a 
  1.14  settlement division.  The workers' compensation judges at the 
  1.15  department of labor and industry, together with their support 
  1.16  staff, offices, furnishings, equipment, and supplies, are 
  1.17  transferred to the settlement division of the office of 
  1.18  administrative hearings.  Minnesota Statutes, section 15.039, 
  1.19  applies to the transfer of employees.  The settlement division 
  1.20  of the office of administrative hearings shall maintain offices 
  1.21  in the cities of St. Paul, Duluth, and Detroit Lakes.  The 
  1.22  office of a judge in the settlement division of the office of 
  1.23  administrative hearings and the support staff of the judge may 
  1.24  be located in a building that contains offices of the department 
  1.25  of labor and industry.  The seniority of a workers' compensation 
  1.26  judge at the office of administrative hearings, after the 
  1.27  transfer, shall be based on the total length of service at 
  1.28  either agency. 
  2.1      Sec. 2.  [TRANSFER OF DUTIES.] 
  2.2      The powers and duties assigned to the workers' compensation 
  2.3   judges at the department of labor and industry on July 1, 1997, 
  2.4   are transferred to workers' compensation judges at the office of 
  2.5   administrative hearings.  The powers and duties assigned to the 
  2.6   customer assistance teams on July 1, 1997, shall remain at the 
  2.7   department of labor and industry.  The transfer of the power and 
  2.8   duty to conduct settlement conferences to the office of 
  2.9   administrative hearings does not affect the ability of the 
  2.10  commissioner of the department of labor and industry to provide 
  2.11  voluntary mediation services to the parties of a dispute. 
  2.12     Sec. 3.  [TRANSFER OF FUNDS.] 
  2.13     The commissioner of finance shall, after consultation with 
  2.14  the commissioner of the department of labor and industry and the 
  2.15  chief administrative law judge, make the appropriate transfer of 
  2.16  funds from the department of labor and industry to the office of 
  2.17  administrative hearings.  The funds transferred shall be 
  2.18  sufficient to provide for the smooth operation of the settlement 
  2.19  division and pay the salaries of all personnel transferred to 
  2.20  the office of administrative hearings plus the salaries for any 
  2.21  judge or support staff positions that were filled on October 1, 
  2.22  1997, but are vacant on the effective date of this act.  The 
  2.23  commissioner of finance shall report to the legislature if the 
  2.24  appropriation for the department of labor and industry is 
  2.25  insufficient following the transfer of funds. 
  2.26     Sec. 4.  [PROHIBITION ON LAYOFFS AND DEMOTIONS.] 
  2.27     No employee whose job duties are affected by a transfer 
  2.28  from the department of labor and industry to the office of 
  2.29  administrative hearings may be laid off or otherwise suffer loss 
  2.30  of pay or benefits.  Support staff must first be offered the 
  2.31  option to voluntarily transfer.  If it is necessary to transfer 
  2.32  other support staff after taking volunteers, transfers shall be 
  2.33  from the least senior employees in the appropriate class. 
  2.34     Sec. 5.  [SMALL CLAIMS COURT TRANSFER.] 
  2.35     The small claims court at the department of labor and 
  2.36  industry is transferred to the office of administrative hearings.
  3.1      Sec. 6.  [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.] 
  3.2      The revisor of statutes shall change the term "settlement 
  3.3   judge" to "compensation judge" wherever it appears in Minnesota 
  3.4   Statutes and Minnesota Rules. 
  3.5      Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.6      Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
  3.7   enactment.