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.

This office includes the Executive Director’s Office and two divisions.  The main goal of the Executive Director’s Office is to provide executive leadership to Employee Relations’ programs and staff.  In addition to the regular duties within the two divisions, 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 Division of Employee Services and Recognition 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.
• The Division of Employee Benefits 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 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 Office of Governmental Services Center consists of the following organizational units:

• The Training & Employee Development Branch
• The Organizational Development & Special Projects Branch
• The Performance Management Branch

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 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 Office of Human Resource Planning & Diversity Initiatives is responsible for the coordination of human resource planning and diversity initiatives for state agencies.  The Office consists of the following organizational units: 

• The Division of Diversity Relations' primary responsibilities include developing and implementing the state's Affirmative Action program, investigating any complaints concerning unfair treatment and conduct consultation and training in the areas of EEO/Affirmative Action, recruitment, retention, diversity inclusion training and cultural competency.
• The Division of Equal Employment Opportunity is responsible for workforce demographics, staffing trends and turnover statistics used to develop a systematic process for identifying the workforce competencies required to meet the Commonwealth's strategic goals and for developing the strategies to meet these requirements.

The Department for Personnel Administration consists of the Division of Employee Management, the Division of Staffing Services,and the Division of Human Resource Projects.

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 Division of Staffing Services is responsible for operation of a centralized applicant and employee counseling program; the examination program for state employment; 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; the construction of merit examinations; and coordination of outreach programs for recruitment of applicants and the administrative internship program. The Division consists of the following organization units:

• The Employment Counseling Branch
• The Applicant Processing Branch
• The Register Branch
• The Staffing Analysis Branch

The Division of Human Resource Projects is responsible for the design, development and implementation of strategic human resource projects. It consists of the following organization units:

• The KHRIS Project Branch
• The Special Projects Branch
• The Systems Management Branch provides technical support for the Cabinet's information resource activities, including installation of appropriate resources and assisting in the procurement process; provides analytical support to management in design and integration of development projects; maintains Personnel's Web Site; and assists Cabinet staff with problem resolution associated with data processing hardware and software.

The Department for 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 Division of Special Programs consists of the following organizational units:

• 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
• The Employee Health Insurance Wellness Branch is responsible to support the numerous wellness initiatives for our Kentucky Employees Health Plan (KEHP). These initiatives include development and implementation of KEHP wellness programs; spearheading wellness coalition activities/programs between state agencies; monitoring, evaluating and reporting results of wellness initiatives; development of communications and training strategies.