TIME LIMIT FOR APPEALING A STATE CIVIL SERVICE PERSONNEL ACTION (PA CASES)
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Effective January 1, 2012
The Office of State Employment Relations has revised Chapter 430 of the Wisconsin Human Resources Handbook setting forth the scope, procedures, and time limits for the “Employee Grievance Procedure.” See http://oser.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=7358. The revision is intended to supersede Ch. ER 46, Wis. Admin. Code, and Sec. 230.44, Stats., and provides that State civil service employees who are not subject to a collective bargaining agreement’s grievance procedure are to grieve disciplinary actions and hazardous duty pay decisions before appealing those matters to the WERC.
Therefore, if you are seeking review of
• a demotion, layoff, suspension, discharge, reduction in base pay, written reprimand, • a denial of hazardous employment benefits, or • an employer’s response at the third step of the grievance procedure established under Sec. 230.04(14), Stats.,
you should carefully review Chapter 430. |
Generally speaking, all State civil service appeals must be filed with the Commission within 30 calendar days of either the effective date of the personnel action being appealed, or within 30 calendar days of the date of notification of the decision, whichever is later. The sole exception is for those cases in which the Commission is serving as the 4th step in the grievance procedure, when the standard is “30 calendar days after service of a decision issued at the third step of the grievance procedure . . . or within 30 calendar days after the last day on which the employer could have served a timely decision, whichever is sooner.”
The term "filing" refers to actual receipt of the appeal by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission at its Madison office, rather than simply placing the appeal in a mailbox. Sending items to the Commission via certified or registered mail, rather than regular mail, will often delay delivery. The mailing address of the Commission’s Madison office is P.O. Box 7870, Madison, WI 53707-7870. The Commission’s street address for hand delivery is 1457 East Washington Avenue in Madison [directions].
Upon objection, an appeal that is received on the 31st day rather than the 30th day is usually deemed to be untimely, even if the appeal was mailed before the 30 day period had ended. There are certain defenses (to what would otherwise be an untimely appeal) that have been recognized in past rulings in this area, but the specifics of the defenses extend well beyond the scope of this webpage. More specific information, though not exhaustive, is available in ch. 102, Personnel Commission Digest of Decisions.
Sources of the 30-day time limit:
For appeals under Sec. 230.44(1)(a) through (i), Stats., the time limit is established in Sec. 230.44(3), Stats.
For decisions grieved to the Commission as the final step arbiter under Sec. 230.45(1)(c), Stats., the time limit for filing is specified in Sec. ER 46.07(2), Wis. Adm. Code.
For appeals under Sec. 230.45(1)(d), Stats., the time limit is established in Sec. ER 28.06, Wis. Adm. Code.
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This page is a public domain communication of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. The URL of this page is {http://werc.wi.gov/personnel_appeals_filing_time_limits.htm}. Last modified on 16 FEB 2012. Comments, questions and suggestions.