STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3533

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 560

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 560, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Director of the Department of Human Resources Development

G.M. No. 560

BARBARA A. KRIEG, for a term to expire 12-1-2014,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Barbara A. Krieg to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated as the Director of Human Resources Development.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Ms. Krieg from the Governor; Department of the Attorney General; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Health; Department of Defense; Department of Transportation; Department of Public Safety; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Department of Taxation; Department of Accounting and General Services; State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers; Society for Human Resource Management Hawaii; Olelo Community Development; United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO; Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i; twenty-eight individuals from the Employee Staffing and Classification and Compensation Divisions of the Department of Human Resources Development; twelve individuals of the Department of Human Resources senior management team; and twenty individuals.

     Ms. Krieg graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages.  After college, she worked for thirteen years in the international trade show industry.  In her first place of employment, she started in an entry-level customer service position and eventually worked her way up to serve as a department manager.  Subsequently, she served as a General Manager and Vice President with smaller companies where she was responsible for general management, staff recruitment, training, mentoring, and employee benefits.

     Ms. Krieg earned her Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and has fifteen years of experience as a labor and employment attorney with private law firms in California and Hawaii.  She served as Counsel Attorney in the Labor and Employment Department of Bryan Cave, LLP in Santa Monica, California, and later as an Of Counsel Attorney and Director and Shareholder at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing in Honolulu.  A significant part of her law practice focused on counseling employers in union and non-union sectors on human resources matters as well as being responsible for attorney recruitment, including managing her law firm's summer associate training program.

     Ms. Krieg transitioned from the private to public sector when she served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Human Resources Development in March 2011, and was later named Interim Director of the Department in September 2011.  As Interim Director, she is responsible for administering the personnel system for the executive branch workforce, including employee relations, classification and compensation system, staffing, and workers' compensation.

     Ms. Krieg has also been involved in the community as a Director for the Tau Dance Theater and a former Director for the Disabilities Rights Legal Center.  She currently serves on the Deferred Compensation Plan as an ex officio member and the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund as the employer representative.  She also serves as a member of the Society for Human Resource Management – Hawaii Chapter, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, and the National Association of State Personnel Executives.

     Testifiers in support of the nominee indicate that Ms. Krieg demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of the role the Department of Human Resources Development performs within the State, and more importantly, that she understands the strategic vision that the Department can achieve in improving the State's operations.  She supports and encourages an open dialogue with all executive branch departments in their efforts to address complex and long standing personnel practices that contribute to delays in classifying, recruiting, and hiring a diverse workforce.  She has also made herself available to discuss issues relating to collective bargaining with the various public sector employee unions.  She has a solid understanding of the collective bargaining process and is committed to the principles of good faith bargaining.

     Your Committee notes the testimony submitted in support from a number of employees of the Department of Human Resources Development.  These employees testified that as Deputy Director and Interim Director, Ms. Krieg has shown an open and responsive management style that resulted in positive change among the staff.  Her background in employment and labor law enables her to quickly grasp personnel issues and the complexities of public employment, make thoughtful and sound decisions, and effectively articulate her analyses.  With her broad experience in resolving private sector employment issues, she brings a fresh and valuable perspective to the Department in administering the state employee workforce.  She has demonstrated a genuine desire to work with the Department, expressed her support and appreciation of the Department's efforts in providing quality customer service, and exhibited integrity as she helps to guide and inspire the Department to work as a team to meet Department goals.

     Your Committee finds that Ms. Krieg is exceptionally qualified to serve as the Director of Human Resources Development.  She possesses the intelligence, knowledge, experience, and personality to be an outstanding Director.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair