Rule I - Definitions

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DEFINITIONS

RULE I, Section 1

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The several words and terms hereinafter mentioned, whenever used in these rules or in any regulations in force thereunder, shall be construed as follows:

1. ADVANCEMENT

- shall mean a salary increase within a range of compensation provided for each classification, which is conditioned upon a given minimum term of meritorious service in the same classification and which is made without examination.

2. APPOINTING AUTHORITY

- shall mean any board, including the County Board of Supervisors, commission, court, officer, person or group of persons having the power to make appointments under the provisions of the Wisconsin Statutes or County Ordinances to any subordinate office or position in an office or department of the county government.

3. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

- shall mean the department head, the appointing authority, or other head administrative officer directly responsible to the County Executive, County Board of Supervisors or to any court, board or commission.

4. CLASSIFIED SERVICE

- shall mean all positions in the Milwaukee County Service, except those expressly mentioned in s. 63.03, Wisconsin Statutes, and amendments thereto as exempt from the operation of this act.

5. COMMISSION

- when used alone, shall mean the Milwaukee County Civil Service Commission.

6. COMPENSATION

- shall mean the standard rates of pay which have been established for the respective grades of work, as set forth under the standard titles with the specifications of duties, responsibilities and qualifications.

7. COUNTY

- shall mean the Milwaukee County Government.

8. COUNTY BOARD

- shall mean the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

9. COUNTY EXECUTIVE

- shall mean the County Executive of Milwaukee County.

10. DEFINITION OF DUTIES

- shall mean the work requirements for each position or classification in terms of the position's importance, difficulty and extent of supervision and responsibility.

11. DEPARTMENT

- shall mean an administrative branch including a line of work and group of employees under the immediate charge of a chief executive officer or officers of a department, or board of the county government, the officer or officers of such department or board shall be known as the department head.

12. DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

- shall mean the Director of the Department of Human Resources.

13. EMPLOYEE

- shall mean any person who is occupying or is legally entitled to again occupy an office or position in the classified civil service.

14. EXAMINATION

- shall mean the selection strategy used to prepare a list of candidates who are eligible for appointment to a position. An examination may be competitive or non-competitive.

(a) Competitive examination shall mean an examination which may include a written test, and/or oral interview, and/or a review of the applicant's training, education and experience; and/or such other factors as are deemed appropriate by the Director of Human Resources. Each candidate shall receive a numerical score which will be used to rank all candidates.

(b) Non-competitive examination may consist of a random ranking of all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications for a position or the assignment of the same score to all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications for a position.

15. FULL MAINTENANCE

- shall mean meals, lodging, laundry and incidentals.

16. HOURLY EMPLOYEE OR HOURLY APPOINTMENTS

- shall mean an EMPLOYEE who holds an appointment to a classification which is authorized by the County Board in a total number of hours, not positions, to be filled by as many individuals as the department deems necessary. ⁽¹⁾

17. GROUP

- shall mean a division of a service and includes positions having duties of similar character and standard. Within each group are included "positions" with standards, titles, duties, classifications and compensation.

18. LAY OFF

- shall mean the severance, as a result of an abolition of a position or lack of work, of an employee on regular appointment from a permanent position to which he was legally certified and appointed.

19. ORIGINAL EXAMINATION

- shall mean a competitive or non-competitive examination open to applicants who have never been previously employed in the service of the county, although qualified persons who are or have previously been so employed may also apply.

20. POSITION

- shall mean a group of current duties and responsibilities assigned or delegated by competent authority, requiring the full time or part time employment of one person.

21. PROBATIONARY PERIOD

- shall mean the first 1040 hours of straight time hours paid while on regular appointment to a position in a given classification. Certain classifications may require longer probationary periods as noted in Rule IV, Sec. 5.

22. PROMOTION

- shall mean a change from one classification to a classification in a higher pay range and involves a change of duties and requires that an appointment be made in accordance with Rule IV, Section 1, and other appropriate provisions in these Rules or County Ordinances. ⁽²⁾

23. PROMOTION EXAMINATION

- shall mean an examination restricted to persons who are employed by Milwaukee County at the time an examination is announced, or is on leave of absence from county employment or is on a reinstatement or layoff/recall list.

24. QUALIFICATIONS

- shall mean, in addition to the minimum educational experience and personal requirements which must be fulfilled by a person preliminary to appointment or promotion, the possession of such job related attributes as required and evaluated by the appointing authority based solely upon merit and fitness as are necessary to perform the duties of the position or classification sought, and as has been evidenced by the successful completion of a prescribed probationary period.

25. SECRETARY

- shall mean the secretary of the Milwaukee County Civil Service Commission.

26. SENIORITY

- for the purposes where it applies, seniority shall be measured by the length of an employee's continuous full time service with Milwaukee County, including temporary, emergency and hourly employment. Seniority for employees with continuous but less than full time service shall be measured by the total straight time hours paid. If employees have the same hiring date, then seniority shall be based on the last four digits of their social security number with the highest number being the most senior. Continuous employment shall be interrupted and seniority shall be measured from the most recent date of hire under the following circumstances:

(a) an employee who resigns employment with the county and is not reinstated to county employment within 30 days of the effective date of resignation; and

(b) an employee is discharged and is not reinstated to county employment pursuant to an appeal of such discharge.

27. SERVICE

- shall mean functional divisions of the classified service.

28. CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATION

- shall mean those requirements as to services, titles, duties, qualifications, and compensation or wage for all authorized offices, positions and employment.

29. STATUTE

- shall mean the act of the State Legislature of Wisconsin entitled "An act to create sections 772-1 to 772-17, inclusive, of the statutes relating to civil service in counties having a population of 500,000 or more and providing a penalty." (Chapter 259, Laws of 1917, as amended by Chapter 3, Laws of 1918, passed February 28, 1918, and in effect January 1, 1919, being Chapter 16 of the Laws of 1919, as amended). The statute is now numbered 63.01 to 63.16, inclusive.

30. TITLE

- shall mean the classification prescribed by these rules for civil service and fiscal control for an authorized position and for all persons occupying similar positions.

31. UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE

- shall mean all positions in the Milwaukee County Service expressly mentioned in s. 63.03, Stats., and amendments thereto of the county civil service act as exempt from the operation of said act.

32. VACANCY

- shall mean a position which has been newly established or which has been rendered vacant by the resignation, death or removal of the previous incumbent.

33. Whenever used, the masculine noun or pronoun shall include the feminine. The singular shall include the plural and the plural the singular.

34. CLASSIFICATION

- shall mean a group of positions which are sufficiently alike in general duties and responsibilities that they may be referred to by a common title and the same tests of fitness and aptitude may be applied to determine the qualifications of applicants for positions in the group.

35. CLASSIFICATION SERIES

- shall mean a number of classifications of positions which are substantially similar as to the types of work involved and differ only in rank as determined by the importance of the duties and degree of responsibility involved and the amount of training and experience required. Such classes constitute a series and each is given a designation of rank by Roman numerals, beginning with the lowest level as I, next level II, etc.

36. A REGULAR APPOINTMENT (designated by the letters "R.A.")

- shall mean an appointment to a permanent position authorized to be filled and made as a result of a certification as prescribed by statute and the rules of the Commission.

37. A TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT (designated by the letters "T.A.")

- shall mean an appointment to a position authorized to be filled for a limited period and made as a result of a certification as prescribed by statute and rules of the Commission.

38. AN EMERGENCY APPOINTMENT (designated by the letters "E.A.")

- shall mean an appointment of an individual to a position when there is no appropriate list of eligibles from which a certification can be made.

39. HANDICAPPED

- an individual is considered to be handicapped or disabled in a work setting if that person (a) has a documentable physical or mental impairment(s) which substantially limits his/her ability to work; or (b) has a record of such impairment(s); or (c) is regarded as having such impairment(s) and (d) is capable of functioning in the job when provided with reasonable accommodation.

40. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

- modifications in the hiring process or working environment to accommodate specific needs of disabled persons. Elements to be considered shall include work site, duties, work schedule, or equipment which allow a qualified handicapped individual to perform the requirements of the job. Such accommodations shall be provided unless they create undue hardship to the operation of the department. Factors which determine undue hardship include program size, type of organization, and cost and type of accommodation. Any officer or employee with personnel responsibilities shall be willing to provide or allow reasonable accommodations on a case-by-case basis to the known disabilities of an otherwise qualified handicapped individual.

41. LAYOFF/RECALL LIST

- shall mean a listing of all individuals who have been laid off from a position of a given classification. The individuals shall be recalled to active employment in the same classification in the inverse order of the layoff. An individual shall remain on the layoff/recall list for three years and one day from the date of layoff. However, failure to accept recall to a regular appointment in the classification from which the individual was laid off shall result in removal from the list.

42. REINSTATEMENT LIST

- shall mean a listing of individuals who are eligible to be considered for appointment to a vacancy in a given classification, all of whom shall be certified to a vacancy in that classification, in addition to those certified under Rule IV, Section 1(3)(a)(c)(d) and transfers. An individual shall remain on a reinstatement list for three years and one day from the date of placement on such list. Individuals may be placed on a reinstatement list under any circumstances deemed appropriate by the Director of Human Resources.

RULE I, Section 2

CLASSIFICATION

All positions in the county service of the County of Milwaukee, except those specifically exempted from the operation of the County Civil Service Act, are included either within Schedule "F" or Schedule "G" of the Salary and Classification Standardization Ordinance of Milwaukee County (Chapter 17 of the General Ordinances of the County of Milwaukee). Schedule "F" is applicable to all positions in said service occupied after December 28, 1952, and prior to July 26, 1964, or in respect to Clerk I and Clerk Typist I after December 28, 1952, and prior to December 27, 1964. Schedule "G" is applicable to all the classified service of the County of Milwaukee occupied by persons appointed, transferred or promoted to such offices or positions on or after July 26, 1964. Each such schedule is hereby adopted and made a part of these rules. Under each standard title there were established specifications of duties, qualifications, maximum and minimum compensation and rates of salary or wage.

Rule I, Section 3

TITLES

The title of each position in the classified service shall be as prescribed in the classification plans, which title is, as nearly as possible, indicative of the duties and requirements of said positions. This standard title, and no other, shall be used to designate such positions or employees in all reports to and records of the commission and on all payrolls or accounts for salary or wage submitted to the commission for check and certification and no payroll or account for salary or wage of any person shall be certified unless such person is designated therein according to the title prescribed by the Commission for the position which he lawfully holds. No title of any position or employee shall be changed except upon action by the Civil Service Commission or the County Board.

RULE I, Section 4

NEW CLASSIFICATIONS

(1) All departmental requests for new positions or proposed changes in the classification of existing positions shall be sent to the Commission before being submitted to the County Board. In such requests the department head shall set forth clearly the duties, qualifications and other matters affecting the position, title and compensation and the necessity for the creation of such new position or for the making of such changes in the classification of such existing position.

(2) Upon receipt of such statement the Commission shall promptly investigate and determine whether the classification is in fact new or whether the changes so far as they affect the classification, title, duties and qualifications and compensation of the existing position are in accordance with the classification specifications for personal service. No classification shall be considered new unless the duties thereof are found by the Commission to be substantially different from those of every other existing position in the classified service.

(3) The Commission shall submit a report to the County Board indicating its approval or disapproval, together with all available information concerning classification, title, duties, and recommended compensation for any new position and shall provide an appropriate descriptive title and classify the new position under the appropriate service and group in the specification for personal service.

(4) Similar procedure shall be followed in the cases of requests for changes in classifications of existing positions. Following its finding, the Commission shall submit a report to the County Board as in the case of new positions, stating its approval or disapproval and containing full information concerning the effect of such changes upon the classification, title and duties of the position and also the changes in compensation involved, if any. When the Commission shall find such request for changes to be in accordance with the standards in the specifications for personal service, the Commission shall provide a new descriptive title when the changes involved require it and shall reclassify such position under the appropriate service and group to correspond to the changes in specifications included in the report to the County Board.

(5) No new position shall be considered as properly created unless classified by the Commission or County Board.

RULE I, Section 5

POSITION CONTROL, CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATIONS AND JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS,

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

(1) The Director of Human Resources shall ensure that a classification specification or job announcement is in existence for every classification in the county classified service. Such document shall include: a general description of the duties of the classification, and the minimum educational and experience qualifications as well as the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the classification. The classification specification or job announcement shall serve as the document which describes, in general terms, the duties which may appropriately be assigned to an employee who holds a position in a given classification.

(2) A position description is a detailed description of all specific duties and tasks which are performed by an individual. At the request of an appointing authority or department head an incumbent of a position (if it is filled) shall complete a position description in consultation with, and verified by, his or her immediate supervisor and the appointing authority or department head, which shall be referred to the Department of Human Resources whenever an existing position is to be reviewed for appropriate classification and pay range or whenever a request is made to create a new position. The responsible department head, or his or her designee, shall certify that a position description is a complete and accurate statement of the duties being performed or to be performed by the incumbent of the position described. In addition, department heads and appointing authorities may have position descriptions updated, during completion of the exit interview process or as they deem necessary, and as noted above.

(3) Upon reviewing a request to determine the appropriate classification and pay range for an existing position or for a new position, the Director of Human Resources shall use the position description to determine which classification specification or job announcement most closely includes the specific duties included in the position description and thus recommend an appropriate classification and pay range.

(4) Whenever the duties permanently assigned to an individual appear to be inappropriate to the classification held by the individual, the appointing authority shall submit a request to the Director of Human Resources to conduct a study to determine appropriate classification and pay range. The submission of such request shall conform with the Rules of the County Board of Supervisors.

(5) In order to maintain adequate control over all positions, the Director of Human Resources will assign to each position created and authorized by ordinance an identifying number. This identifying number shall appear on all requests for certification of eligibles, notices of appointment and notices of separation submitted to the Director of Human Resources.