(a)    Ensuring equal opportunities. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Agency: means any board, commission, committee, council, or department in state government or a unit thereof created by the constitution or statutes if such board, commission, committee, council, department, unit, or the head thereof, is authorized to appoint subordinate staff by the constitution or statute, except the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, a legislative or judicial board, commission, committee, council, department, or unit thereof or an authority created under subch. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

appointing authority: means the chief administrative officer of an agency unless another person is authorized to appoint subordinate staff in the agency by the constitution or statutes. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Bureau: means the bureau of merit recruitment and selection in the division. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Civil service: means all offices and positions of trust or employment in the service of the state, except offices and positions in the organized militia and the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Classified service: means the classified service of the civil service. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Commission: means the employment relations commission. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Director: means the director of the bureau. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01

in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols or figures. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01

Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01

Position: means a group of duties and responsibilities in either the classified or the unclassified divisions of the civil service, which require the services of an employee on a part-time or full-time basis. See Wisconsin Statutes 230.03

Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.

   (1)    An appointing authority shall:

      (a)    Conform to, comply with, and aid in all proper ways in carrying into effect this subchapter and the rules prescribed thereunder.

      (b)    Appoint persons to or remove persons from the classified service, discipline employees, designate their titles, assign their duties and fix their compensation, all subject to this subchapter and the rules prescribed thereunder.

      (c)    Provide the director with current information relative to the assignment of duties to permanent classified positions in his or her agency.

      (d)    Report promptly to the director or the administrator any information the director or the administrator requires in connection with any delegated personnel function and with each appointment, promotion, demotion, suspension or separation from the service or other change in employee status.

      (e)    When requested by the director or the administrator, provide reports on employee work performance and any other records or information the director or administrator requires to carry out this subchapter.

      (f)    Provide the administrator with the civil service information required under s. 16.004 (7).

      (g)    Prepare an affirmative action plan which complies with the standards established by the administrator under s. 230.04 (9) (a) and which sets goals and outlines steps for incorporating affirmative action and principles supporting affirmative action into the procedures and policies of his or her agency.

      (h)    Ensure that his or her agency complies with its affirmative action plan.

      (i)    Explore and implement innovative personnel policies to ensure affirmative action.

      (j)    If his or her agency employs 50 or more employees, create an affirmative action advisory committee which shall advise the appointing authority concerning programs designed to ensure equal opportunity to all employees, applicants for employment and clients of the agency.

      (k)    Designate an affirmative action officer reporting directly to the appointing authority. The affirmative action officer shall advise and assist the appointing authority in establishing programs to ensure appropriate affirmative action.

      (L)    Provide information about the employment of each severely disabled employee for the administrator’s report under s. 230.04 (9r) within 30 days after the disabled employee is appointed, and at other times at the request of the administrator.

      (m)    Prepare a progressive discipline plan that complies with the standards established by the administrator under s. 230.04 (13m).

      (n)    Prohibit his or her employees from representing themselves by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or in any other way as an engineer unless the employee satisfies one of the following:

         1.    The employee is a professional engineer, as defined in s. 443.01 (7).

         2.    The employee has a bachelor of science or higher degree in engineering.

      (o)    Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335 and with the assistance of the department of justice, conduct a background investigation of any person selected to fill a position in the civil service who, in fulfilling the duties of the position, will have access to federal tax information received directly from the federal Internal Revenue Service or from a source that is authorized by the federal Internal Revenue Service. The background investigation may include requiring the person to be fingerprinted on 2 fingerprint cards each bearing a complete set of the person’s fingerprints, or by other technologies approved by law enforcement agencies. The department of justice shall submit any such fingerprint cards to the federal bureau of investigation for the purposes of verifying the identity of the person fingerprinted and obtaining records of his or her criminal arrests and convictions.

   (1m)   Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, at any interval determined appropriate by the director, an appointing authority may conduct, in the manner specified in sub. (1) (o), additional background investigations of any person for whom an initial background investigation has been conducted under sub. (1) (o) and background investigations of any other person employed by the appointing authority who, in fulfilling the duties of his or her position, has access to federal tax information received directly from the federal Internal Revenue Service or from a source that is authorized by the federal Internal Revenue Service.

   (2)   An appointing authority may delegate in writing part or all of his or her power of appointment, including discipline and removal.

   (3)   All reports and records submitted under sub. (1) shall be prepared and presented at such times and in such manner as the director or administrator prescribes.

   (4)   An appointing authority shall maintain permanently an employee’s disciplinary records in the employee’s personnel file. Unless otherwise ordered by a court or, during the grievance process under s. 230.445, by the appointing authority, administrator, or commission, or unless otherwise agreed to in a settlement agreement, disciplinary records may not be removed from an employee’s personnel file.