HF 4309

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/26/2024 02:21pm

A bill for an act
relating to state government; modifying the classification treatment of temporary
positions for purposes of the Public Labor Relations Act; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2022, sections 43A.08, subdivisions 2a, 3, by adding a subdivision; 43A.15,
subdivision 7; 116P.09, subdivision 4; Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement,
section 43A.08, subdivisions 1, 1a.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 43A.08, subdivision 1, is amended
to read:

Subdivision 1.

Unclassified positions.

Unclassified positions are held by employees
who are:

(1) chosen by election or appointed to fill an elective office;

(2) heads of agencies required by law to be appointed by the governor or other elective
officers, and the executive or administrative heads of departments, bureaus, divisions, and
institutions specifically established by law in the unclassified service;

(3) deputy and assistant agency heads and one confidential secretary in the agencies
listed in subdivision 1a;

(4) the confidential secretary to each of the elective officers of this state and, for the
secretary of state and state auditor, an additional deputy, clerk, or employee;

(5) intermittent help employed by the commissioner of public safety to assist in the
issuance of vehicle licenses;

(6) employees in the offices of the governor and of the lieutenant governor and one
confidential employee for the governor in the Office of the Adjutant General;

(7) employees of the Washington, D.C., office of the state of Minnesota;

(8) employees of the legislature and of legislative committees or commissions; provided
that employees of the Legislative Audit Commission, except for the legislative auditor, the
deputy legislative auditors, and their confidential secretaries, shall be employees in the
classified service;

(9) presidents, vice-presidents, deans, new text begin and new text end other managers deleted text begin and professionals deleted text end in academic
and academic support programs, administrative or service faculty, teachers, research
assistants, and student employees eligible under terms of the federal Economic Opportunity
Act work study program in the Perpich Center for Arts Education and the Minnesota State
Colleges and Universities, but not the custodial, clerical, or maintenance employees, or any
professional or managerial employee performing duties in connection with the business
administration of these institutions;

(10) officers and enlisted persons in the National Guard;

(11) attorneys, legal assistants, and three confidential employees appointed by the attorney
general or employed with the attorney general's authorization;

(12) judges and all employees of the judicial branch, referees, receivers, jurors, and
notaries public, except referees and adjusters employed by the Department of Labor and
Industry;

(13) members of the State Patrol; provided that selection and appointment of State Patrol
troopers must be made in accordance with applicable laws governing the classified service;

(14) examination monitors and intermittent training instructors employed by the
Departments of Management and Budget and Commerce and by professional examining
boards and intermittent staff employed by the technical colleges for the administration of
practical skills tests and for the staging of instructional demonstrations;

(15) student workers;

(16) executive directors or executive secretaries appointed by and reporting to any
policy-making board or commission established by statute;

(17) employees unclassified pursuant to other statutory authority;

(18) intermittent help employed by the commissioner of agriculture to perform duties
relating to pesticides, fertilizer, and seed regulation;

(19) the administrators and the deputy administrators at the State Academies for the
Deaf and the Blind; and

(20) chief executive officers in the Department of Human Services.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 43A.08, subdivision 1a, is amended
to read:

Subd. 1a.

Additional unclassified positions.

Appointing authorities for the following
agencies new text begin , with express mutual agreement by the exclusive representative under section
179A.10, subdivision 2, new text end may designate additional unclassified positions according to this
subdivision: the Departments of Administration; Agriculture; Children, Youth, and Families;
Commerce; Corrections; Direct Care and Treatment; Education; Employment and Economic
Development; Explore Minnesota Tourism; Management and Budget; Health; Human
Rights; Human Services; Labor and Industry; Natural Resources; Public Safety; Revenue;
Transportation; and Veterans Affairs; the Housing Finance and Pollution Control Agencies;
the State Lottery; the State Board of Investment; the Office of Administrative Hearings; the
Department of Information Technology Services; the Offices of the Attorney General,
Secretary of State, and State Auditor; the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; the
Minnesota Office of Higher Education; the Perpich Center for Arts Education; and the
Minnesota Zoological Board.

A position designated by an appointing authority according to this subdivision must
meet the following standards and criteria:

(1) the designation of the position would not be contrary to other law relating specifically
to that agency;

(2) the person occupying the position would report directly to the agency head or deputy
agency head and would be designated as part of the agency head's management team;

(3) the duties of the position would involve significant discretion and substantial
involvement in the development, interpretation, and implementation of agency policy;

(4) the duties of the position would not require primarily personnel, accounting, or other
technical expertise where continuity in the position would be important;

(5) there would be a need for the person occupying the position to be accountable to,
loyal to, and compatible with, the governor and the agency head, the employing statutory
board or commission, or the employing constitutional officer;

(6) the position would be at the level of division or bureau director or assistant to the
agency head; and

(7) the commissioner has approved the designation as being consistent with the standards
and criteria in this subdivision.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 43A.08, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 1c. new text end

new text begin Rights of unclassified employees. new text end

new text begin Unclassified employees covered by an
exclusive representative under section 179A.10, subdivision 2, shall be entitled to the same
layoff, recall, grievance, and arbitration rights as employees serving in the classified service,
as outlined in their respective collective bargaining agreements.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 43A.08, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:

Subd. 2a.

Temporary unclassified positions.

new text begin (a) new text end The commissioner, upon request of
an appointing authority, may authorize the temporary designation of a position in the
unclassified service. The commissioner may make this authorization only for professional,
managerial or supervisory positions which are fully anticipated to be of limited duration.

new text begin (b) Except by mutual agreement with the exclusive representative, employees serving
in a temporary unclassified position for longer than three years shall be converted into the
classified service.
new text end

new text begin (c) Employees serving in temporary unclassified positions shall be entitled to the same
layoff, recall, grievance, and arbitration rights as employees serving in the classified service.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 43A.08, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Unclassified titles; salary rates and ranges; investigations.

Except for those
positions listed in section 43A.18, subdivisions 4 and 6, when a new position is to be
established in the unclassified service, the commissioner shall compare the position to a
class in the classified service if a comparable class exists or if not, establish a salary rate or
range and official title for the position.

The commissioner shall independently or upon request of an appointing authority or
employee investigate the duties of a position unclassified under provisions of subdivision
1a or rule. If the commissioner determines the position is incorrectly placed in the unclassified
service, new text begin or if the duties for a position are substantively similar to the duties for an existing
position in the classified service, new text end the commissioner shall place the position in the classified
service. If the commissioner determines the position is improperly compared or assigned
to an inappropriate salary range, the commissioner shall recompare the position, change the
title or establish a new title or reassign the position to a different salary rate or range.

If a new title is established for the position or if the position is reassigned to a different
salary rate or range and the position will be covered by a bargaining unit under the provisions
of section 179A.10, and if there is an applicable provision in a collective bargaining
agreement, the commissioner shall establish the salary rate or range pursuant to the collective
bargaining agreement.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 43A.15, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Appointments for unclassified incumbents of newly classified positions.

The
commissioner deleted text begin may deleted text end new text begin shall new text end authorize the deleted text begin probationary deleted text end appointment of an incumbent who has
passed a qualifying selection process and who has served at least one year in an unclassified
position which has been placed in the classified service by proper authority. new text begin Incumbents of
unclassified positions approved for conversion into the classified civil service shall not be
required to serve an additional probationary period.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 116P.09, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Personnel.

Persons who are employed by a state agency to work on a project
and are paid by an appropriation from the trust fund are in the deleted text begin unclassified deleted text end new text begin classified new text end civil
service, and their continued employment is contingent upon the availability of money from
the appropriation. When the appropriation has been spent, their positions must be canceled
and the approved complement of the agency reduced accordingly. Part-time employment
of persons for a project is authorized. The use of classified employees is deleted text begin authorized deleted text end new text begin required new text end
when approved as part of the work program required by section 116P.05, subdivision 2,
paragraph (b).

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2024.
new text end