230.45 Powers and duties of commission and division of equal rights.

(1) The commission shall:

(a) Conduct hearings on appeals under s. 230.44.

(am) Serve as an arbitrator, or designate an attorney employed by the commission to serve as an arbitrator, in arbitrations under s. 230.44 (4) (bm).

(c) Serve as final step arbiter in the state employee grievance procedure established under s. 230.04 (14).

(d) Hear appeals under ss. 230.36 (4) and 321.68 (4).

(h) Keep minutes of its own proceedings and other official actions. All such records shall, subject to reasonable rules, be open to public inspection. Records of the director or the administrator which are confidential shall be kept confidential by the commission.

(i) Adopt rules necessary to carry out this section. Notice of the contents of such rules and amendments thereto shall be given promptly to the director, the administrator and appointing authorities affected thereby.

(1e) The division of equal rights shall:

(a) Receive and process complaints of discrimination of state employees under s. 111.375. In the course of investigating or otherwise processing such a complaint, the division of equal rights may require that an interview with any state employee, except a management or supervisory employee who is a party to or immediately involved in the subject matter of the complaint, be conducted outside the presence of the appointing authority or any representative or agent thereof unless the employee voluntarily requests that presence. An appointing authority shall permit an employee to be interviewed without loss of pay and to have an employee representative present at the interview. An appointing authority of an employee to be interviewed may require the division of equal rights to give the appointing authority reasonable notice prior to the interview.

(b) Receive and process complaints of retaliatory disciplinary action under s. 230.85.

(c) Keep minutes of its own proceedings and other official actions relating to this chapter. All such records shall, subject to reasonable rules, be open to public inspection. Records of the director or the administrator which are confidential shall be kept confidential by the division of equal rights.

(d) Adopt rules necessary to carry out this section. Notice of the contents of such rules and amendments thereto shall be given promptly to the director, the administrator, and appointing authorities affected thereby.

(1m) The commission shall waive the investigation and determination of probable cause of any complaint that is filed by a complainant under sub. (1) or s. 103.10 (12) (b) at the complainant's request. If the commission waives the investigation and probable cause determination, the commission shall proceed with a hearing on the complaint. The commission's waiver of an investigation and probable cause determination does not affect the commission's right to attempt to resolve the complaint by conference, conciliation or persuasion.

(2) Subsection (1) (c) does not apply to an employee who, using the agency grievance procedure, grieves his or her dissatisfaction with the evaluation methodology and results used to determine any discretionary performance award or the amount of such an award. Any such employee grievance shall be settled on the basis of the appointing authority's decision.

(3) The commission shall promulgate rules establishing a schedule of filing fees to be paid by any person who files an appeal under sub. (1) (c) or s. 230.44 (1) (a) or (b) with the commission on or after the effective date of the rules promulgated under this subsection. Fees paid under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.425 (1) (i).

History: 1977 c. 196; 1979 c. 221; 1981 c. 334 s. 25 (2); 1981 c. 360; 1983 a. 27, 398, 409; 1987 a. 140, 331; 1987 a. 403 s. 256; 1989 a. 56 s. 259; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27; 1997 a. 131, 216; 1999 a. 176; 2001 a. 26, 38; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25; 2009 a. 212; 2017 a. 59, 274.

The power to investigate complaints and issue subpoenas is included within the meaning of “receive and process." 68 Atty. Gen. 403.