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, eliminating
broadband salary descriptions, allowing lateral entry
appointments for certain bargaining units, excluding managers and
supervisors from chapter 89, limit the scope of negotiable
issues, allowing personnel actions during grievance processes,
and allowing year end savings for bonuses.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1226
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 distorting business and consumer decisions, creates unnecessary
 
 7 regulations which burden the private sector, and is unable to
 
 8 respond in a timely manner to changing public needs.  Inefficient
 
 9 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
 

 
Page 2                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
Page 3                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
 
 
Page 4                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 step of the appropriate salary range[.]; provided that
 
 2 appointments to positions covered under bargaining unit (13) or
 
 3 its equivalents shall be made at a step that is commensurate with
 
 4 the level of training and experience of the appointee."
 
 5      SECTION 5.  Section 77-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 7      "(a)  The salary structures for white-collar positions
 
 8 covered under this chapter shall be comprised of no more than
 
 9 thirty-one salary ranges, designated SR 4 to SR 31, SC-1, SC-2,
 
10 and SC-3[.]; provided that the director may establish a smaller
 
11 number of ranges.  In the publication of pay schedules, however,
 
12 salary ranges may be redesignated and salary ranges which are not
 
13 being used may be excluded from the respective pay schedules;
 
14 provided that if SC ranges are being used, they shall be
 
15 identified as such so that subsection (d) remains applicable.
 
16 Each salary range shall consist of no more than ten steps,
 
17 designated B to G and L-1 to L-4; provided that the director may
 
18 establish a smaller number of steps; provided that range SC-2
 
19 shall consist of nine steps, designated B to G, L-1, L-2, and
 
20 L-3, and range SC-3 shall consist of eight steps, designated B to
 
21 G, L-1, and L-2."
 
22      SECTION 6.  Section 82-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 

 
 
 
Page 5                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 amended to read as follows:
 
 2      "§82-4 Funds.  Awards and expenses for the honorary
 
 3 recognition of officers and employees may be paid from the funds
 
 4 or appropriations, including unencumbered funds that would
 
 5 otherwise lapse at the end of the fiscal period for which the
 
 6 appropriation was made, available to the department primarily
 
 7 benefiting or may be paid from the several funds or
 
 8 appropriations of the various departments benefiting as may be
 
 9 determined by the governor, the mayor of the city and county of
 
10 Honolulu and the respective chief executive officers of the
 
11 several counties, as the case may be, for awards under section
 
12 82-3 and by the head of the department concerned for awards under
 
13 section 82-1."
 
14      SECTION 7.  Section 89-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 amended to read as follows:
 
16      "§89-1 Statement of findings and policy.  The legislature
 
17 finds that joint decision-making is the modern way of
 
18 administering government.  Where public employees have been
 
19 granted the right to share in the decision-making process
 
20 affecting wages and working conditions, they have become more
 
21 responsive and better able to exchange ideas and information on
 
22 operations with their administrators.  Accordingly, government is
 

 
 
 
Page 6                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
Page 7                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
Page 8                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
Page 9                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 302A-625, and the appointment and classification of faculty
 
 2 pursuant to sections 304-11 and 304-13, existing on July 1, 1970,
 
 3 shall be the bases for differentiating blue-collar from white-
 
 4 collar employees, professional from institutional, health and
 
 5 correctional workers, supervisory from nonsupervisory employees,
 
 6 teachers from educational officers, and faculty from nonfaculty.
 
 7 In differentiating supervisory from nonsupervisory employees,
 
 8 class titles alone shall not be the basis for determination, but,
 
 9 in addition, the nature of the work, including whether or not a
 
10 major portion of the working time of a supervisory employee is
 
11 spent as part of a crew or team with nonsupervisory employees,
 
12 shall also be considered."
 
13      SECTION 9.  Section 89-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended as follows:
 
15      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
16      "(a)  The employer and the exclusive representative shall
 
17 meet at reasonable times, including meetings in advance of the
 
18 employer's budget-making process, and shall negotiate in good
 
19 faith with respect to only wages, hours, the number of
 
20 incremental and longevity steps and movement between steps within
 
21 the salary range, and the amounts of contributions by the State
 
22 and respective counties to the Hawaii public employees health
 

 
 
 
Page 10                                                    
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
Page 11                                                    
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
Page 12                                                    
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
Page 13                                                    
                                     S.B. NO.           1226
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 opinion rendered upon the same or substantially similar question
 
 2 by any county attorney or corporation counsel and the question
 
 3 upon which the opinion is rendered has been raised by a county,
 
 4 the question may, either at the instance of the county attorney,
 
 5 corporation counsel or the attorney general, be submitted to the
 
 6 circuit court of the first judicial circuit for a declaratory
 
 7 judgment on the question, and jurisdiction to hear and determine
 
 8 the questions is hereby conferred upon the circuit court.  The
 
 9 circuit court shall determine the question without delay."]
 
10      SECTION 12.  Section 89-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 repealed.
 
12      ["§89-19  Chapter takes precedence, when.  This chapter
 
13 shall take precedence over all conflicting statutes concerning
 
14 this subject matter and shall preempt all contrary local
 
15 ordinances, executive orders, legislation, or rules adopted by
 
16 the State, a county, or any department or agency thereof,
 
17 including the departments of human resources development or of
 
18 personnel services or the civil service commission."]
 
19      SECTION 13.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
20 New statutory material is underscored.
 
21      SECTION 14.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
22 
 
23                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________
 
24 
 
25                                           _______________________