Subdivision 1.

Unclassified positions.

Unclassified positions are held by employees
who are:

(1) chosen by election or appointed to fill an elective office;

(2) heads of agencies required by law to be appointed by the governor or other elective
officers, and the executive or administrative heads of departments, bureaus, divisions, and
institutions specifically established by law in the unclassified service;

(3) deputy and assistant agency heads and one confidential secretary in the agencies
listed in subdivision 1a and in the Office of Strategic and Long-Range Planning;

(4) the confidential secretary to each of the elective officers of this state and, for the
secretary of state and state auditor, an additional deputy, clerk, or employee;

(5) intermittent help employed by the commissioner of public safety to assist in the
issuance of vehicle licenses;

(6) employees in the offices of the governor and of the lieutenant governor and one
confidential employee for the governor in the Office of the Adjutant General;

(7) employees of the Washington, D.C., office of the state of Minnesota;

(8) employees of the legislature and of legislative committees or commissions; provided
that employees of the Legislative Audit Commission, except for the legislative auditor, the
deputy legislative auditors, and their confidential secretaries, shall be employees in the
classified service;

(9) presidents, vice-presidents, deans, other managers and professionals in academic
and academic support programs, administrative or service faculty, teachers, research
assistants, and student employees eligible under terms of the federal Economic Opportunity
Act work study program in the deleted text beginPerpich Center for Arts Education and thedeleted text end Minnesota State
Colleges and Universities, but not the custodial, clerical, or maintenance employees, or any
professional or managerial employee performing duties in connection with the business
administration of these institutions;

(10) officers and enlisted persons in the National Guard;

(11) attorneys, legal assistants, and three confidential employees appointed by the attorney
general or employed with the attorney general's authorization;

(12) judges and all employees of the judicial branch, referees, receivers, jurors, and
notaries public, except referees and adjusters employed by the Department of Labor and
Industry;

(13) members of the State Patrol; provided that selection and appointment of State Patrol
troopers must be made in accordance with applicable laws governing the classified service;

(14) examination monitors and intermittent training instructors employed by the
Departments of Management and Budget and Commerce and by professional examining
boards and intermittent staff employed by the technical colleges for the administration of
practical skills tests and for the staging of instructional demonstrations;

(15) student workers;

(16) executive directors or executive secretaries appointed by and reporting to any
policy-making board or commission established by statute;

(17) employees unclassified pursuant to other statutory authority;

(18) intermittent help employed by the commissioner of agriculture to perform duties
relating to pesticides, fertilizer, and seed regulation;

(19) the administrators and the deputy administrators at the State Academies for the
Deaf and the Blind; and

(20) chief executive officers in the Department of Human Services.

Subd. 1a.

Additional unclassified positions.

Appointing authorities for the following
agencies may designate additional unclassified positions according to this subdivision: the
Departments of Administration; Agriculture; Commerce; Corrections; Education;
Employment and Economic Development; Explore Minnesota Tourism; Management and
Budget; Health; Human Rights; Labor and Industry; Natural Resources; Public Safety;
Human Services; Revenue; Transportation; and Veterans Affairs; the Housing Finance and
Pollution Control Agencies; the State Lottery; the State Board of Investment; the Office of
Administrative Hearings; the Office of MN.IT Services; the Offices of the Attorney General,
Secretary of State, and State Auditor; the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; the
Minnesota Office of Higher Education; deleted text beginthe Perpich Center for Arts Education;deleted text end and the
Minnesota Zoological Board.

A position designated by an appointing authority according to this subdivision must
meet the following standards and criteria:

(1) the designation of the position would not be contrary to other law relating specifically
to that agency;

(2) the person occupying the position would report directly to the agency head or deputy
agency head and would be designated as part of the agency head's management team;

(3) the duties of the position would involve significant discretion and substantial
involvement in the development, interpretation, and implementation of agency policy;

(4) the duties of the position would not require primarily personnel, accounting, or other
technical expertise where continuity in the position would be important;

(5) there would be a need for the person occupying the position to be accountable to,
loyal to, and compatible with, the governor and the agency head, the employing statutory
board or commission, or the employing constitutional officer;

(6) the position would be at the level of division or bureau director or assistant to the
agency head; and

(7) the commissioner has approved the designation as being consistent with the standards
and criteria in this subdivision.

Subd. 6.

Severance pay.

A district must pay severance pay to a teacher who is placed
on unrequested leave of absence by the district as a result of the agreement. A teacher is
eligible under this subdivision if the teacher:

(1) is a teacher, but not a superintendent;

(2) has a continuing contract with the district according to section 122A.40, subdivision
7.

The amount of severance pay must be equal to the teacher's salary for the school year
during which the teacher was placed on unrequested leave of absence minus the gross
amount the teacher was paid during the 12 months following the teacher's termination of
salary, by an entity whose teachers by statute or rule must possess a valid Minnesota teaching
license, and minus the amount a teacher receives as severance or other similar pay according
to a contract with the district or district policy. These entities requiring a valid Minnesota
teaching license include, but are not limited to, the district that placed the teacher on
unrequested leave of absence, another district in Minnesota, an education district, an
intermediate school district, a service cooperative, a board formed under section 471.59, a
state residential academy, deleted text beginthe Perpich Center for Arts Education,deleted text end a vocational center, or a
special education cooperative. These entities do not include a district in another state, a
Minnesota public postsecondary institution, or a state agency. Only amounts earned by the
teacher as a substitute teacher or in a position requiring a valid Minnesota teaching license
shall be subtracted. A teacher may decline any offer of employment as a teacher without
loss of rights to severance pay.

To determine the amount of severance pay that is due for the first six months following
termination of the teacher's salary, the district may require the teacher to provide documented
evidence of the teacher's employers and gross earnings during that period. The district must
pay the teacher the amount of severance pay it determines to be due from the proceeds of
the levy for this purpose. To determine the amount of severance pay that is due for the
second six months of the 12 months following the termination of the teacher's salary, the
district may require the teacher to provide documented evidence of the teacher's employers
and gross earnings during that period. The district must pay the teacher the amount of
severance pay it determines to be due from the proceeds of the levy for this purpose.