| Human Resource Management |
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Division of Human Resource Management Agency History: The Division of Human Resource Management received its name in 2011 when the former Personnel Department was moved to division status within the Department of Administration by the Nevada State Legislature. The history of this division can be traced to 1941 when an act relating to the administration of the Nevada unemployment compensation division. This act created the employment security department and also created a merit examination board and provided for a merit system of personnel administration within the employment security department. The merit examination board’s purpose was to insure the impartial selection of personnel on the basis of merit and the board held examinations to determine the qualification of applicants and establish lists of candidates eligible for positions. In 1945 the Nevada State Legislature created the state merit system that replaced the 1941 law. This 1945 act also created a state merit board whose duties mirrored the previous board. It also established rules and regulations for hearings of personnel appeals. The State Merit Board ruled personnel issues until 1953 when a State Department of Personnel was created that superseded the 1945 law. In 1953 the law established a department of personnel whose purpose was to be carried out throughout the decades of personnel management in Nevada. It was to provide all citizens a fair and equal opportunity for public service, to establish conditions of service which attract officers and employees of character and ability, and to increase the efficiency and economy of the governmental departments and agencies by the improvement of methods of personnel administration. This 1953 act created within the Department of Personnel a Personnel Advisory Commission appointed by the Governor whose purpose was to advise the director of the Department concerning organization and administration, to advise the Governor on legislation relative to personnel policy and to work with the Director on the personnel rules and regulations. It also spelled out who would be part of the unclassified service of the state and also explained the classified service and the duties of the Director in prescribing rules and regulations of the classified service. This initial act set up the administrative structure of the Department of Personnel establishing that the Director shall prepare a classification plan for all positions in the classified service, shall prescribe rules and regulations for a pay plan that would include classes, grades and group of positions. The director also was to prescribe rules and regulations for open competitive examinations delineate rules and regulations for the establishment of eligible lists for appointments and promotions. Annual and sick leave rules were also established. In 1954 the Personnel Advisory Committee decided that an Employee Management Committee should be established that could help in resolving grievances within state employment. Representatives from employee groups and managers were appointed by the Governor to serve on this committee. 1963 saw the creation of the State Department of Administration and the Personnel Department became a division within this new department. Also included in the new Administration Department were the divisions of the budget, buildings and grounds and purchasing. By 1964 the administrative organizational chart for the State Personnel Division shows the division divided into the following programs—Central Records and Payroll Certification, Placement Certification, Continuous Examining, and Secretarial Services. Also there was the Personnel Advisory Commission and the Employee Management Committee. The Merit Award Board was added to the Statues of Nevada in 1967, this board originally had five members appointed by the Governor whose purpose was to field suggestions and award state employees either a Governor’s certificate of commendation or a cash payment for ideas that reduce or eliminate state expenditures or improve the operation of state government. In the early 1970’s the Personnel Division was in charge of the Nevada IPA Administration Program. The Division served as the administrative conduit for the Intergovernmental Personnel Advisory Act which was a federal government program in each of the states. The IPA Program administered funds to state and local agencies for training, personnel administration, and improvement programs. A committee was established called the Intergovernmental Personnel Advisory Committee appointed by the Governor to review grant proposals and to oversee how money was spent. The federal program was eliminated in 1981 and a year later the IPA Program came to an end. The Employee Management Committee and the Personnel Advisory Commission had heard employee grievances but in 1973 it was decided that a better legal process could be had for the grievance procedure. In that year a hearing officer was added to the statutes of the Personnel Division. Instead of the Personnel Advisory Commission the Hearing Officer would conduct hearings and render decisions. Employees who had been dismissed, demoted, or suspended could request a hearing. The decision by the Hearing Officer was binding but was subject to review and rehearing by the Personnel Advisory Commission. In 1981 the Personnel Division left the Department of Administration and was transferred to the Department of General Services. Just two years later, in 1983, the Personnel Division left the General Services Department and regained autonomous status as the Personnel Department. The Personnel Advisory Commission was rechristened the Personnel Commission and the Employee Management Committee was added in statute. The Committee was to serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor and the Personnel Commission in all matters of personnel administration and relations between management and employees. Also the Committee provided a forum for the hearing of state employees’ suggestions, complaints, or disciplinary problems. The Committee was also to have hearings and make final decisions for the adjustment of grievances. The current organizational chart of the Division of Human Resource Management, which received its name when the Department of Personnel became a Division again and was put under the Department of Administration which was its home from 1963 to 1981, includes the following programs—Equal Employment Opportunity and Harassment Discrimination Investigation, Agency Human Resource Services, Employee and Management Services, Compensation Classification and Recruitment, Records and Payroll. The boards affiliated with the Division of Human Resource Management include the Personnel Commission, the Hearings Officer, the Employee Management Committee, the Merit Award Board, and the Catastrophic Leave Committee. The last of these was added in statute in 2001.
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