230.27 Project positions.

(1) A “project position" means a position which is normally funded for 6 or more consecutive months and which requires employment for 600 hours or more per 26 consecutive biweekly pay periods, either for a temporary workload increase or for a planned undertaking which is not a regular function of the employing agency and which has an established probable date of termination. No project position may exist for more than 4 years.

(1m)

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), an appointing authority is prohibited from appointing a person who is not a resident of this state to a project position under this section.

(b) The director may waive the prohibition under par. (a) if there is a critical need for employees in a specific classification or position or a critical shortage of residents of this state possessing the skills or qualifications required for a position.

(2) Subject to s. 230.275, the director may provide by rule for the selection and appointment of a person to a project position.

(2k) If an appointing authority selects, for a project position, a person who is not a veteran or is not a person the hiring of whom would serve affirmative action purposes, the appointing authority shall make and retain a written record of the appointing authority's reasons for selecting the person who was appointed. The appointing authority shall make the written records available to the division and annually submit a report to the division summarizing the reasons contained in the written records. The division shall annually prepare a report summarizing, for each agency, the information submitted by appointing authorities under this subsection.

(2m) An employee in a project position on a project appointment, while in the position, shall earn and receive all rights and privileges specifically authorized by statute for nonrepresented classified employees, except tenure, transfer, restoration, reinstatement, promotion eligibility and layoff benefits. A project employee's vacation and holidays under s. 230.35 (4) (d) and sick leave shall be on a prorated basis if the employee works less than full-time. Seniority, continuous service, benefits and rights earned while serving a project appointment shall be transferred to or from other project, permanent, seasonal, or sessional appointments in the following manner:

(a) Project appointees who have not previously held a permanent classified or unclassified civil service position may not transfer continuous service rights and benefits earned in any project appointment to subsequent project or permanent appointments.

(b) Project appointees who previously held a permanent classified or unclassified civil service position prior to being appointed to a project position may transfer rights and benefits previously earned to the project appointment, except those rights and benefits specifically excluded under this subsection, in a manner consistent with that applied to similar transactions in the permanent classified service. Such project employees who may subsequently be appointed to another project position or to a permanent classified position may transfer their rights and benefits to the new appointment in a manner consistent with that applied to similar transactions in the permanent classified service.

(3) A leave of absence may be granted under this section to cover the time served on a project appointment. Any time limits established under s. 230.35 do not apply to leaves of absence granted under this subsection.

History: 1977 c. 196; 1979 c. 221; 1981 c. 26, 140; 1983 a. 27, 192; 1985 a. 29; 1991 a. 101; 1997 a. 307; 2003 a. 33; 2015 a. 55.