230.047 Temporary interchange of employees.

(1) Declaration of policy. Intergovernmental cooperation, including that specified in the intergovernmental personnel act of 1970, P.L. 91-648, 84 Stat. 1909, is an essential factor in resolving problems affecting this state. The interchange of personnel on a temporary basis between and among governmental agencies at the same or different levels of government and with institutions of higher education is a significant factor in achieving such cooperation.

(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this section:

(a) “Local government" means any political subdivision, instrumentality or authority of a state or any general or special purpose agency of such a political subdivision, instrumentality or authority.

(b) “Receiving agency" means any department or agency of a foreign government, the federal government or a state or local government, an institution of higher education or other municipal corporate agency which receives an employee of another agency under this section.

(c) “Sending agency" means any department or agency of a foreign government, the federal government or a state or local government, an institution of higher education or other municipal corporate agency which sends any employee thereof to another agency under this section.

(3) Authority to interchange employees. Any department, agency or instrumentality of the state, or institution of higher education or any local government or other municipal corporate agency is authorized to participate in a program of interchange of employees with departments, agencies or instrumentalities of a foreign government, the federal government, another state or local government, an institution of higher education, other municipal corporate agencies or other agencies or instrumentalities of this state as a sending or receiving agency.

(4) Status of employees.

(a) Employees of a sending agency participating in an exchange of personnel as authorized in sub. (3), during such participation, are on detail to regular work assignments of the receiving agency.

(b) Employees who are on detail are entitled to the same salary and benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled and shall remain employees of the sending agency for all purposes, including the payment of their salaries, and their continuous service benefits except that the supervision of their duties during the period of detail may be governed by agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency, and except that a receiving agency other than a receiving agency of this state may provide supplemental salary and benefits to the employee for the duration of the interchange.

(c) Any employee who participates in an exchange under the terms of this section who suffers disability or death as a result of personal injury arising out of and in the course of an exchange, or sustained in performance of duties in connection therewith, for the purposes of ch. 102, is an employee of the sending agency.

(5) Travel expenses of employees. A sending agency of the state shall not pay the travel expenses of its employees incurred in connection with their work assignments at the receiving agency.

(6) Status of employees of other governments.

(a) When any department, agency or instrumentality of this state acts as a receiving agency, employees of the sending agency who are assigned under authority of this section are on detail to the receiving agency.

(b) Employees who are detailed to the receiving agency shall not by virtue of such detail be considered to be employees thereof, nor shall they be paid a salary or wage by the receiving agency during the period of their detail. The supervision of the duties of such employees during the period of detail may be governed by agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.

(7) Travel expenses of employees of other governments. A receiving agency of the state may, in accordance with the travel regulations of such agency, pay travel expenses of persons assigned thereto under this section during the period of such assignments on the same basis as if they were regular employees of the receiving agency.

(8) Administration. The administrator shall promulgate rules for the operation and implementation of this section. The rules shall prescribe the duration, terms and conditions of such interchange.

(9) Salary reimbursements.

(a) Any funds received by a sending agency of the state from a receiving agency as reimbursement for salary expenditures made under an employee interchange agreement shall be credited to the appropriation from which the expenditures were paid.

(b) A receiving agency of the state may, in accordance with the salary provisions of the sending agency, reimburse the sending agency for salary and fringe benefit expenditures for employees on detail to the receiving agency.

History: 1971 c. 270 ss. 63, 77; Stats. 1971 s. 16.24; 1975 c. 147 s. 54; 1977 c. 196 s. 55; Stats. 1977 s. 230.047; 1979 c. 89, 221; 1983 a. 27, 189; 1991 a. 75; 2003 a. 33; 2015 a. 55.