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Employment Relations Division
The Employment Relations Division upholds public policy as it relates to employment relationships and illegal discrimination.
Goals and Objectives:
HUMAN RIGHTS BUREAU GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
- Goal #1: Conduct timely impartial investigations of charges of illegal discrimination under state and federal law.
- Complete case investigations within 120 days for housing charges and 180 days for all other charges in accordance with state statutory time lines.
- Goal #2: Insure appropriate filing within statutory time lines and jurisdiction of applicable state and federal discrimination statutes.
- Trained staff will screen complaint inquiries and, when appropriate, prepare written complaints within two weeks of all intake interviews.
- Goal # 3: Foster early resolution of charges.
- Provide mediation during the 180 days investigation period, when requested by parties to a case.
- Successfully conciliate 60% of cases certified for hearing.
- Goal # 4: Provide technical assistance and educational outreach to businesses, advocacy groups and interested citizens.
- Participate in 15 Assistance to Business Clinics annually.
- Participate in a minimum of 10 other workshops and conferences on disability issues, race relations, discrimination issues in the workplace, education and public accommodations.
- Respond to business rights inquiries from the public within two business days.
- Goal #1: Issue initial determinations on Wage and Hour complaints in a timely and efficient manner.
- Maintain at least a 75% completion and strive for a 76% completion within 55 days of receipt.
- Goal #2: Conduct timely dispute resolution and settlement of Wage and Hour complaints.
- Maintain the 4% of cases forwarded to formal hearings processes.
- Resolve at least 70% of the contested cases through mediation prior to hearing.
- Goal #3: Foster alternative dispute resolution methodologies.
- Actively participate in Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) contract mediation and grievance mediation as requested.
- Goal #1: Assist employers in complying with workplace safety and health standards.
- Conduct compliance inspections of 300 public employers.
- Conduct quarterly inspections on Montana’s six coal mines.
- Provide technical assistance to private employers on workplace safety and health through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration grant.
- Goal #2: Aid in professional development for Montana employers and safety professionals.
- Provide 30 basic and advanced training courses in workplace safety and health through the Montana Occupational Safety and Health Institute.
- Goal #3: Provide mine training courses for Montana employers.
- Train 1,000 – 1,500 miners and mining contractors in new miner training/refresher training through the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Small Miners training grant.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS ASSISTANCE BUREAU
- Goal #1: Provide timely monitoring and regulatory services for the workers’ compensation industry and claimants.
- Process 100% of orders within 14 days of receipt. This typically requires issuance of determinations on 2,200 orders annually.
- Goal #2: Provide timely, impartial, and equitable dispute resolution of benefit issues between claimants and insurers.
- Maintain at least a 70% to 80% resolution rate for all workers’ compensation mediation petitions filed. This typically requires conducting mediation conferences and issuing recommendations on 1,200 disputes annually.
- Complete the mediation process on 100% of cases within 80 days of receipt of a petition for mediation. The timeframes may be extended by request and agreement of the parties.
- Goal #3: Enhance the electronic collection, quality, production, and sharing of workers’ compensation information and data.
- Complete the Annual Report by July of each year.
- Prepare at least one special study to be made available to the workers’ compensation community each fiscal year.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION REGULATION BUREAU
- Goal #1: Develop comprehensive internet based information and technical assistance for the medical community, insurers, adjusters, employers, workers and the general public.
- Establish and host online Contractor Registration application and payment by June 2007.
- The professional licensing boards of practitioners’ recommendation regarding the appropriateness of medical treatment is listed on the division’s website within 10 days of issuance.
- Establish an online system for the public to verify the existence of workers’ compensation coverage on a business by July 2008.
- Goal #2: Respond to applications and renewal requests in a timely manner.
- Provide new independent contractor certificates within two days of receipt of complete applications.
- Conduct timely compliance investigations of renewing applicants.
- Goal #3: Provide technical assistance, public service announcements and educational outreach to the public about Title 39, Chapters 8, 9, 71, 72, and 73, MCA.
- When requested, the staff correctly answers public inquiries. Staff that are sent to public presentations are knowledgeable of these chapters of the MT law.
- Participate in a minimum of 10 workshops and conferences annually to provide information about the programs the Bureau administers.
Employment Relations Division Accomplishments
Employment Relations Division Website: http://erd.dli.mt.gov/
