| Public Release Date: October 4, 1996 | No. 96-40 |
The Bureau of Mediation Services is responsible for promoting a stable and positive labor management relationship in Minnesota's public, nonprofit, and private sectors. In addition to mediating labor disputes, the bureau determines appropriate collective bargaining units for employees, conducts elections, decides fair share fee challenge cases, handles arbitration referrals, and administers the area labor-management committee grant program.
The bureau operations are financed through General Fund appropriations.
Our audit objectives were to obtain an understanding of management controls relevant to payroll, rent, travel, and grants. We also designed our audit to provide reasonable assurance that the Bureau of Mediation Services complied with finance-related legal provisions.
We concluded that the bureau adequately documented and approved employee time sheets, used the appropriate pay rates and processed its payroll according to Department of Finance policies and bargaining unit agreements. However, we noted that two individuals had system access to both the payroll and personnel functions.
We concluded that the bureau is following all applicable provisions for the office lease.
We concluded that the bureau's employee travel expenditures and claims for reimbursement were properly authorized and documented. However, we noted that the bureau did not comply with the mileage reimbursement provisions of the bargaining agreements.
We concluded that the bureau appropriately authorized grants-in-aid to labor-management committees in accordance with applicable finance-related legal provisions.
