Bureau of Workforce Relations and Policy Administration

Overview

​​​​​​​Doug Thayer, Director​​

The Bureau of Workforce Relations and Policy Administration is responsible for the leadership, management, and implementation of enterprise workforce relations, policy administration, performance management, policies, standards, and procedures.​

​Major Responsibilities:

• Administration of disciplinary ​and grievance investigations processes, WLEA arbitration procedures and WERC proceedings. This includes conducting regional/agency disciplinary investigations, fact findings and climate assessments; processing all agency/region requests to skip progressive discipline and reviewing, approving, modifying, or denying requests prior to agency/region action being taken; conducting and responding to agency/region step 2 grievances; and reviewing and processing public safety step 3 grievances.

• Administration of the state's collective bargaining negotiations process and agreements. This includes administering and providing guidance on agency and union statutory labor relations obligations and activities; negotiating collective bargaining agreements; and contract administration and interpretation.

• Providing regular consultation with and providing expert advice to agency executive leaders, supervisors, and agency/region human resources regarding the following: the interpretation and consistent application of employee relations and performance management policies; grievances; corrective actions; training of staff; and existing collective bargaining agreements.​​

• Creating, revising, and updating workforce relations-related Wisconsin Human Resources Handbook Chapters.

• Records & Data Management. This includes issuing and maintaining relevant handbook chapters; policy/rule development; open records management; form digitization, development and updates; issuing and maintaining relevant policy bulletins; ensuring application of statutes, Administrative Codes and legislative matters; and compliance with Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act.

• Leading meetings with statewide human resources and employment relations staff to discuss agency issues, prevailing cases, shared services policies and procedures, and policy development and implementation.

• Providing training and development to human resources and employment relations staff, agency managers and supervisors, and enterprise management development academy employees on employment relations topics including investigations and discipline, just cause, due process, performance management, the grievance process, and other related subjects.
  

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