REPORT TITLE:
Public Employment


DESCRIPTION:
Reforms the civil service and public employment collective
bargaining laws by repealing the preemptory language of
chapter 89, eliminating the requirement of uniformity among the
counties and requiring coordination instead, permitting a smaller
number of ranges or steps in salary ranges, allowing lateral
entry appointments for certain bargaining units, excluding
managers and supervisors from chapter 89, limiting the scope of
negotiable issues, allowing personnel actions during grievance
processes, and allowing year-end savings for bonuses.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            599         
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that structural changes in
 
 2 Hawaii's economy necessitate structural changes in government
 
 3 organization, government services, and service delivery.
 
 4 Economic revitalization is tied directly to government
 
 5 efficiency.  Inefficient government collects unnecessary revenue,
 
 6 thereby distorting business and consumer decisions, creates
 
 7 unnecessary regulations that burden the private sector, and is
 
 8 unable to respond in a timely manner to changing public needs.
 
 9 Inefficient government thus lacks accountability to the public.
 
10      Furthermore, government cannot correct inefficiencies and
 
11 lack of accountability without the authority and ability to
 
12 manage its workforce efficiently.  This is evidenced by the
 
13 following:
 
14      (1)  The inability to direct personnel to perform tasks
 
15           outside of overly narrow job descriptions;
 
16      (2)  The inability to reward outstanding employees with pay
 
17           increases;
 
18      (3)  The inability to use criteria other than seniority when
 
19           positions must be abolished.  For example, management
 
20           cannot consider performance evaluations in referral and
 

 
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 1           recall lists, and cannot interview and accept or reject
 
 2           referrals from the department of human resources
 
 3           development;
 
 4      (4)  Inclusion of supervisory personnel in bargaining units
 
 5           creates a conflict of interest for those employees; and
 
 6      (5)  The inability of counties to shape personnel policies
 
 7           specific to their own needs due to the requirement of
 
 8           uniformity.
 
 9      The purpose of this Act is to reform the collective
 
10 bargaining and civil service laws necessary to achieve economic
 
11 revitalization.
 
12      SECTION 2.  Chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
13 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
14 read as follows:
 
15      "§76-    Chapter takes precedence, when.  This chapter shall
 
16 take precedence over all conflicting statutes concerning this
 
17 subject matter and shall preempt all contrary local ordinances,
 
18 executive orders, legislation, or rules adopted by the State, a
 
19 county, or any department or agency thereof, including the
 
20 departments of human resources development or of personnel
 
21 services or the civil service commission, and all collective
 
22 bargaining agreements entered into between the State, a county,
 
23 or any department or agency thereof, and the exclusive
 
24 representative of a bargaining unit."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 3.  Section 76-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§76-3 [Uniform] Coordinated administration.  It is the
 
 4 intent of the legislature that the system of personnel
 
 5 administration established by this chapter and chapter 77 shall
 
 6 be [as uniformly administered as is practicable.  In order to
 
 7 promote such uniformity, the several commissioners and]
 
 8 administered as fairly as practicable and reasonable.  In order
 
 9 to keep each other apprised of changes and trends in the field of
 
10 personnel administration, the directors of the state department
 
11 of human resources development and of the county departments of
 
12 civil service, the administrative director of the courts, and the
 
13 Hawaii health systems corporation chief executive officer's
 
14 designee shall meet [at least once] quarterly each year at the
 
15 call of the director of human resources development of the
 
16 State."
 
17      SECTION 4.  Section 77-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
19      "(a)  All initial appointments shall be made at the first
 
20 step of the appropriate salary range[.]; provided that
 
21 appointments to positions covered under bargaining unit (13) or
 
22 its equivalents shall be made at a step that is commensurate with
 
23 the level of training and experience of the appointee."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 5.  Section 77-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 3      "(a)  The salary structures for white-collar positions
 
 4 covered under this chapter shall be comprised of no more than
 
 5 thirty-one salary ranges, designated SR 4 to SR 31, SC-1, SC-2,
 
 6 and SC-3[.]; provided that the director may establish a smaller
 
 7 number of ranges.  In the publication of pay schedules, however,
 
 8 salary ranges may be redesignated and salary ranges which are not
 
 9 being used may be excluded from the respective pay schedules;
 
10 provided that if SC ranges are being used, they shall be
 
11 identified as such so that subsection (d) remains applicable.
 
12 Each salary range shall consist of no more than ten steps,
 
13 designated B to G and L-1 to L-4; provided that the director may
 
14 establish a smaller number of steps; provided that range SC-2
 
15 shall consist of nine steps, designated B to G, L-1, L-2, and
 
16 L-3, and range SC-3 shall consist of eight steps, designated B to
 
17 G, L-1, and L-2."
 
18      SECTION 6.  Section 82-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
19 amended to read as follows:
 
20      "§82-4 Funds.  Awards and expenses for the honorary
 
21 recognition of officers and employees may be paid from the funds
 
22 or appropriations, including unencumbered funds that would
 
23 otherwise lapse at the end of the fiscal period for which the
 

 
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 1 appropriation was made, available to the department primarily
 
 2 benefiting or may be paid from the several funds or
 
 3 appropriations of the various departments benefiting as may be
 
 4 determined by the governor, the mayor of the city and county of
 
 5 Honolulu and the respective chief executive officers of the
 
 6 several counties, as the case may be, for awards under section
 
 7 82-3 and by the head of the department concerned for awards under
 
 8 section 82-1."
 
 9      SECTION 7.  Section 89-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§89-1 Statement of findings and policy.  The legislature
 
12 finds that joint decision-making is the modern way of
 
13 administering government.  Where public employees have been
 
14 granted the right to share in the decision-making process
 
15 affecting wages and working conditions, they have become more
 
16 responsive and better able to exchange ideas and information on
 
17 operations with their administrators.  Accordingly, government is
 
18 made more effective.  The legislature further finds that the
 
19 enactment of positive legislation establishing guidelines for
 
20 public employment relations is the best way to harness and direct
 
21 the energies of public employees eager to have a voice in
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1 determining their conditions of work, to provide a rational
 
 2 method for dealing with disputes and work stoppages, and to
 
 3 maintain a favorable political and social environment.
 
 4      The legislature declares that it is the public policy of the
 
 5 State to promote harmonious and cooperative relations between
 
 6 government and its employees and to protect the public by
 
 7 assuring effective and orderly operations of government.  These
 
 8 policies are best effectuated by:
 
 9      (1)  [recognizing] Recognizing the right of public employees
 
10           to organize for the purpose of collective
 
11           bargaining[,];
 
12      (2)  [requiring] Requiring the public employers to negotiate
 
13           with and enter into written agreements with exclusive
 
14           representatives on matters of wages, hours, and other
 
15           conditions of employment[, while, at the same time,];
 
16      (3)  [maintaining] Maintaining merit principles and the
 
17           principle of equal pay for equal work among state and
 
18           county employees pursuant to sections 76-1, [76-2,]
 
19           77-31, and 77-33[,]; and
 
20      (4)  [creating] Creating a labor relations board to
 
21           administer the provisions of chapters 89 and 377."
 
22      SECTION 8.  Section 89-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 

 
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 1      "(a)  All employees throughout the State within any of the
 
 2 following categories shall constitute an appropriate bargaining
 
 3 unit:
 
 4      (1)  Nonsupervisory employees in blue-collar positions;
 
 5      (2)  [Supervisory employees in blue-collar positions;]
 
 6           Reserved;
 
 7      (3)  Nonsupervisory employees in white-collar positions;
 
 8      (4)  [Supervisory employees in white-collar positions;]
 
 9           Reserved;
 
10      (5)  Teachers and other personnel of the department of
 
11           education under the same salary schedule, including
 
12           part-time employees working less than twenty hours a
 
13           week who are equal to one-half of a full-time
 
14           equivalent;
 
15      (6)  Educational officers and other personnel of the
 
16           department of education under the same salary schedule;
 
17      (7)  Faculty of the University of Hawaii and the community
 
18           college system;
 
19      (8)  Personnel of the University of Hawaii and the community
 
20           college system, other than faculty;
 
21      (9)  Registered professional nurses;
 
22     (10)  Institutional, health, and correctional workers;
 
23     (11)  Firefighters;
 

 
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 1     (12)  Police officers; and
 
 2     (13)  Professional and scientific employees, other than
 
 3           registered professional nurses.
 
 4      Because of the nature of work involved and the essentiality
 
 5 of certain occupations that require specialized training, units
 
 6 (9) through (13) are designated as optional appropriate
 
 7 bargaining units.  [Employees] Nonsupervisory employees in any of
 
 8 these optional units may vote either for separate units or for
 
 9 inclusion in their respective units (1) through (4).  [If a
 
10 majority of the employees in any optional unit desire to
 
11 constitute a separate appropriate bargaining unit, supervisory
 
12 employees may be included in the unit by mutual agreement among
 
13 supervisory and nonsupervisory employees within the unit; if
 
14 supervisory employees are excluded, the appropriate bargaining
 
15 unit for these supervisory employees shall be (2) or (4), as the
 
16 case may be.]
 
17      The compensation plans for blue-collar positions pursuant to
 
18 section 77-5 and for white-collar positions pursuant to section
 
19 77-13, the salary schedules for teachers pursuant to section
 
20 302A-624 and for educational officers pursuant to section
 
21 302A-625, and the appointment and classification of faculty
 
22 pursuant to sections 304-11 and 304-13, existing on July 1, 1970,
 
23 shall be the bases for differentiating blue-collar from white-
 

 
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 1 collar employees, professional from institutional, health and
 
 2 correctional workers, supervisory from nonsupervisory employees,
 
 3 teachers from educational officers, and faculty from nonfaculty.
 
 4 In differentiating supervisory from nonsupervisory employees,
 
 5 class titles alone shall not be the basis for determination, but,
 
 6 in addition, the nature of the work, including whether or not a
 
 7 major portion of the working time of a supervisory employee is
 
 8 spent as part of a crew or team with nonsupervisory employees,
 
 9 shall also be considered."
 
10      SECTION 9.  Section 89-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended as follows:
 
12      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
13      "(a)  The employer and the exclusive representative shall
 
14 meet at reasonable times, including meetings in advance of the
 
15 employer's budget-making process, and shall negotiate in good
 
16 faith with respect to only wages, hours, the number of
 
17 incremental and longevity steps and movement between steps within
 
18 the salary range, and the amounts of contributions by the State
 
19 and respective counties to the Hawaii public employees health
 
20 fund to the extent allowed in subsection (e)[, and other terms
 
21 and conditions of employment which are subject to negotiations
 
22 under this chapter and which are to be embodied in a written
 

 
 
 
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 1 agreement, or any question arising thereunder, but such
 
 2 obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or
 
 3 make a concession]."
 
 4      2.  By amending subsection (d) to read:
 
 5      "(d)  Excluded from the subjects of negotiations are all
 
 6 other terms and conditions of employment not subject to
 
 7 negotiations under this chapter, including but not limited to
 
 8 matters of classification and reclassification, benefits of but
 
 9 not contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund,
 
10 retirement benefits except as provided in section 88-8(h),and the
 
11 salary ranges now provided by law; provided that the number of
 
12 incremental and longevity steps, the amount of wages to be paid
 
13 in each range and step, and movement between steps within the
 
14 salary range shall be negotiable.  The employer and the exclusive
 
15 representative shall not agree to any proposal which would be
 
16 inconsistent with merit principles or the principle of equal pay
 
17 for equal work pursuant to sections 76-1, [76-2,] 77-31, and
 
18 77-33, or which would interfere with the rights of a public
 
19 employer to: 
 
20      (1)  [direct] Direct employees; 
 
21      (2)  [determine] Determine qualification, standards for
 
22           work, the nature and contents of examinations, hire,
 
23           promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in
 

 
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 1           positions and suspend, demote, discharge, or take other
 
 2           disciplinary action against employees for proper cause;
 
 3      (3)  [relieve] Relieve an employee from duties because of
 
 4           lack of work or other legitimate reason;
 
 5      (4)  [maintain] Maintain efficiency of government
 
 6           operations; 
 
 7      (5)  [determine] Determine methods, means, and personnel by
 
 8           which the employer's operations are to be conducted;
 
 9           and [take]
 
10      (6)  Take such actions as may be necessary to carry out the
 
11           missions of the employer in cases of emergencies[;
 
12 provided that the employer and the exclusive representative may
 
13 negotiate procedures governing the promotion and transfer of
 
14 employees to positions within a bargaining unit, procedures
 
15 governing the suspension, demotion, discharge or other
 
16 disciplinary actions taken against employees, and procedures
 
17 governing the layoff of employees; provided further that
 
18 violations of the procedures so negotiated may be the subject of
 
19 a grievance process agreed to by the employer and the exclusive
 
20 representative]."
 
21      SECTION 10.  Section 89-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
22 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 

 
 
 
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 1      "(a)  A public employer shall have the power to enter into
 
 2 written agreement with the exclusive representative of an
 
 3 appropriate bargaining unit setting forth a grievance procedure
 
 4 culminating in a final and binding decision, to be invoked in the
 
 5 event of any dispute concerning the interpretation or application
 
 6 of a written agreement.  In the absence of such a procedure,
 
 7 either party may submit the dispute to the board for a final and
 
 8 binding decision.  A dispute over the terms of an initial or
 
 9 renewed agreement does not constitute a grievance.  In no event
 
10 shall the submission of a dispute to the board under this section
 
11 stay the employer's authority to proceed in good faith with the
 
12 execution of a personnel action that forms the subject matter of
 
13 the dispute."
 
14      SECTION 11.  Section 76-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 repealed.
 
16      ["§76-2 Uniform interpretation.  It is the intent of the
 
17 legislature that the construction and interpretation of any of
 
18 the provisions of this chapter and of chapter 77 be uniform for
 
19 the State and the several counties.
 
20      All questions requiring the construction or interpretation
 
21 of any of the provisions of this chapter or of chapter 77 shall
 
22 be submitted to the attorney general for an opinion and the
 
23 attorney general shall render an opinion promptly on any such
 

 
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 1 question when requested by the head of any department of the
 
 2 State or any county.  In case the opinion is in conflict with an
 
 3 opinion rendered upon the same or substantially similar question
 
 4 by any county attorney or corporation counsel and the question
 
 5 upon which the opinion is rendered has been raised by a county,
 
 6 the question may, either at the instance of the county attorney,
 
 7 corporation counsel or the attorney general, be submitted to the
 
 8 circuit court of the first judicial circuit for a declaratory
 
 9 judgment on the question, and jurisdiction to hear and determine
 
10 the questions is hereby conferred upon the circuit court.  The
 
11 circuit court shall determine the question without delay."]
 
12      SECTION 12.  Section 89-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
13 repealed.
 
14      ["§89-19  Chapter takes precedence, when.  This chapter
 
15 shall take precedence over all conflicting statutes concerning
 
16 this subject matter and shall preempt all contrary local
 
17 ordinances, executive orders, legislation, or rules adopted by
 
18 the State, a county, or any department or agency thereof,
 
19 including the departments of human resources development or of
 
20 personnel services or the civil service commission."]
 
21      SECTION 13.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
22 New statutory material is underscored.
 

 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 14.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 2 
 
 3                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________