Duties and Responsibilities

The Office of the Secretary provides executive policy and management support to the offices/divisions of the Cabinet; promulgates administrative regulations; advises the Personnel Board on matters pertaining to the classified service; conducts investigations on all matters relating to the personnel laws and rules; prepares budget estimates for support of the personnel system; and provides personnel services to unclassified employees according to agency agreements.

The Office of Administrative Services consists of the following organizational unit:

• The Administrative Services Branch is responsible for the Personnel Cabinet's budgeting, accounting, purchasing, property management, payroll and personnel management.

The Office of Legal Services provides legal services to the Personnel Cabinet, including drafting statutes, regulations and legal opinions, represents the Personnel Cabinet and its employees in administrative hearings and trials, serves as Custodian of Records for the purpose of the Open Records Act, consults with other agency officials and employees on the enforcement and application of state and federal laws and regulations governing employment, and serves as an expert witness in trials concerning the State Merit System.

The main goal of the Office is to provide executive leadership to Employee Relations’ programs and staff.  In addition, this office coordinates the Personnel Cabinet’s Annual Employee Appreciation Day, which is part of Public Employee Recognition Week and Employee of the Quarter.

• The Office is responsible for the Employee Suggestion System; the Career Service Program; the Personnel Answer Line; the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program (KEMP); the Kentucky Employee Assistance Program (KEAP); the administration of the Sick Leave and Annual Leave Sharing Programs; the Adoption Benefits Program, which assists executive branch employees with eligible expenses incurred in the adoption of a child, and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  The staff also provides assistance and training on The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees of the Personnel Cabinet and, upon request, to employees of other state agencies.
• This Office is responsible for the Group Life Insurance Program, the state employees’ Workers’ Compensation Program, the Return to Work Program (RTW), the coordination of the Kentucky Safety Program and the Executive Safety Advisory Committee.  Many of these programs also serve employees of other governmental entities, such as local school districts, universities and other local governments.

The Office of Diversity and Equality is responsible for coordination of diversity initiatives for all state agencies, affirmative action compliance, the state Equal Employment Opportunity Program and the Minority Management Trainee Program.

The primary responsibilities of this office include coordinating efforts to increase diversity awareness, retention and training in state government, developing and implementing the state’s affirmative action plan, providing training and technical assistance and investigating complaints concerning unfair treatment, equal employment opportunity and recruitment.

The Governmental Services Center is in the business of change -- helping to improve individual and organizational performance throughout Kentucky government. It acts as a catalyst for change in government organizations through its training, consultation and survey research services.

The Governmental Services Center consists of the following organizational units:

• Training & Employee Development Branch.  This branch will be responsible for all components of training from course development to employee training.
• Organizational Development Branch.  This branch will handle all training requests from agencies.  It will be responsible for creating distance learning alternatives to face-to-face training.
• Performance Management Branch.  The branch will provide training for managers/supervisors in conducting performance evaluations and will administer the Employee Performance Evaluation program. 

Kentucky state government is accountable to the citizens of the Commonwealth for delivering services that meet their needs. Their role in helping Kentucky government meet that accountability is to:

• Provide agency executives, managers, and supervisors with the personal leadership/management knowledge and skills required to effectively lead others and to accomplish their agency mission and goals.
• Provide non-managers with the fundamental knowledge and skills that prepare them to contribute effectively and efficiently to the success of their work units.
• Facilitate organizational learning, organizational performance improvement, and organizational performance capacity enhancement within and between units of government in Kentucky.
• Coordinate and implement employment performance evaluation systems throughout state government.

The Center of Strategic Innovation is responsible to assist in all aspects of developing and executing the strategic direction for the Cabinet; identifying opportunities for improvement; leading annual strategic planning processes; assuring all strategic plans are translated into detailed implementation plans required for meeting cabinet objectives; monitoring and communicating performance around strategic goals; and, related problems.

The Kentucky Public Employees' Deferred Compensation Authority is a voluntary supplemental retirement benefits program available to Kentucky public employees (this includes employees of state government agencies, public school systems, state universities and local government entities).

• The Investments and Records Branch is responsible for the receipt, deposit, investment and reporting of all participant deferrals, rollovers and plan-to-plan transfers, as well as the processing of participant loans.
• The Payout Counseling Branch is responsible for performing all functions related to the payout (withdrawal) aspects of both the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 457 and 401(k) Plans.
• The Participant Service Branch is responsible for the receipt, input and updating of all Participation Agreements (including exchanges, option changes, increases, decreases, etc.).

The Department of Personnel Administration consists of the Division of Employee Management, the Division of Career Opportunities, and the Division of Technology Services.

Our purpose is to ensure that individuals receive the highest quality human resource services in the areas of employment counseling, applicant processing, maintaining and updating selection criteria, maintaining employee records, creation of job classifications and salary computations, and the operation of the state payroll system.

The Division of Employee Management consists of the following organizational units:

• The Processing & Records Branch is responsible for maintaining the central personnel files mandated by KRS 18A.020; processing personnel documents and position actions; implementing layoff plans mandated by KRS 18A.113 to 18A.1132; and monitoring and assisting state agencies in complying with the provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• The Payroll Branch is responsible for operating and maintaining a uniform payroll system and certifying payrolls as required by KRS 18A.125
• The Classification & Compensation Branch prepares and maintains job classification and compensation plans for state employees covered by Chapter 18A, including the review of all personnel position actions, job audits, revision of class specifications and salary surveys.
• The Organizational Management Branch will manage and/or extract data relating to functional relationships of the Commonwealth’s organizational structures that drive workflow and support activities. 

The Division of Career Opportunities is responsible for operation of a centralized applicant program; the state register program, including the administration of layoff plans and reemployment lists as required by KRS 18A.113 through KRS 18A.1132 and KRS 18A.115, 18A.130, and 18A.135; and coordination of outreach programs for recruitment of applicants and the administrative internship program. The Division consists of the following organization units:

• The Human Resources Certification Branch is responsible for the review and evaluation of all applications submitted to an open position to determine if the applicant meets the minimum qualifications (education, experience, training, licensure/certification) to certify eligibility for open positions.
• The Applicant Services Branch provides telephone or on-line “Live Help” assistance to COS applicants through a built-in chat feature embedded in the COS web pages, computer assistance for “walk-in” applicants who opt to utilize computer resources available in the Frankfort office and management of the co-op/internship program.
• The Register Branch is responsible for creating and issuing certified registers to agencies.  These registers contain the qualified applicants from which the agency may select for interview and appointment.  This Branch ensures agencies adhere to all re-employment processes according to KRS 18A.
• The Recruitment Branch offers recruiting services to assist agencies in building an innovative, dedicated, and diverse workforce.  We provide support in providing strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues.

The Division of Technology Services is responsible for the design, development and implementation of strategic human resource projects, such as the Kentucky Human Resource Information System (KHRIS) capital project that the General Assembly approved in 2004.  It consists of the following organization units:

• The System Analysis Branch focuses on the analysis needed to ensure cabinet projects are successfully implemented and supported and ensure business requirements are met when systems and processes are created.
• The Application Development Branch focuses on development and database administrative activities to ensure a successful implementation of cabinet supported systems.  The branch will continue to provide system support after project implementations.
• The Network Support Branch ensures hardware support (servers and desktops), backup and recovery of data support, telecommunications/blackberry support and system security.
• The Information Management Branch focuses on IT services for the cabinet’s programs which serve the public.  The branch will manage web sites, provide COS technical administration and assist with change management. The branch will provide assistance to the departmental help desk.

The Department of Employee Insurance is responsible to the Cabinet Secretary for the State Health Insurance Program and the State Flexible Benefits Program.

The Division of Insurance Administration consists of the following organization units:

• The Member Services Branch is responsible to (1) provide health insurance customer service to the employees and retirees of state government, local boards of education, health departments, and certain quasi-agencies; and (2) furnish commendable customer service to state government employees with respect to their health care and dependent day care flexible spending accounts under the Commonwealth Choice program.
• The Enrollment Information Branch is responsible to develop and maintain a current database of employee health insurance information on all participants in the state health insurance program, as well as, for other related health insurance services.

The Division of Financial & Data Services consists of the following organization units:

• The Data Analysis Branch is responsible to analyze, evaluate, and interpret health insurance data from all available sources and prepare reports based on the data for distribution to appropriate individuals within and outside the Personnel Cabinet.
• The Financial Management Branch is responsible for billing, collection and reconciliation of the self-insurance program.  It is also responsible to develop and maintain a current database of fiscal information for all participants in the programs managed by the Department for Employee Insurance.
• The Flexible Benefits Branch is responsible to provide additional support for the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) programs. In Plan Year 2007, the Department for Employee Insurance (DEI) assumed responsibility for overseeing the FSA program for all school board employees, in addition to the existing state employee participants. Further, the DEI is now responsible for administering the new stand-alone HRA for those employees that waive coverage and the embedded HRA under the new Commonwealth Select Plan.