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Lawmakers use state employee viewing porn at work to illustrate fact that civil service law needs fixing
Lawmakers use state employee viewing porn at work to illustrate fact that civil service law needs fixing
MADISON -- Republicans used a decade-old example of a state employee who couldn't be fired despite watching pornography at work to call for changes to Wisconsin's civil service law.
Gov. Scott Walker endorsed the plan, marking his first major stand since quitting the presidential race Monday. The move quickly put him at odds with state workers, who fear that GOP lawmakers will gut century-old workplace protections.
Governor Scott Walker meets with lawmakers
On Thursday in Madison, Assembly Republican lawmakers met with Walker in a caucus meeting, then made their plans public -- along with a handful of anecdotes of state workers behaving badly.
"He was viewing pornography 4.2 hours a day! They tried to get rid of him, but the work commission sent it back and said, 'no -- you didn`t tell him ahead of time that this was behavior that was frowned upon,'" Senator Roger Roth (R-Appleton) said.
A reporter for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeted a link to an article describing the case, which played out during the mid-2000s.
Republican lawmakers want to make it easier for the state to fire bad workers by defining "just cause" that agencies must provide.
"Of course (the person that viewed porn) should be fired. But that`s the red herring. We`ll see what the bill really says when it`s finally introduced," Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said.
Wisconsin civil service law
Democrats seized on the uncertainty created because the bill hasn't been introduced, so the details aren't public.
During the battle over Act 10, Walker said public employees would still be protected by civil service laws, if not their unions.
"We understand the governor`s back in the building, and up to his old tricks," Barca said.
Republicans pledge they're not taking protections away from the 30,000 civil service workers in state government.
"If you`re in a cubicle and you have a picture of a blue fist hanging up, you`re not going to get fired. If you did or did not sign a recall petition, you`re not going to lose your job," Senator Roth said.
Republicans would also get rid of the current civil service test, which is supposed to be a blind hiring process but one that GOP lawmakers say is vulnerable to people "gaming the test." They said a fry cook once aced an exam for a job in finance.
Republicans expect to replace the current test with a resume-based system for hiring.
They would require agencies to make hiring decisions within 60 days -- right now, they say some government managers take months to hire positions. They would also lengthen the probation period for new employees to two years.
Republicans say they`re going to introduce this bill Monday. They could hold a vote on it in October.
Governor Scott Walker issued this statement Thursday: