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Committee moves bill allowing exempt employees to grieve suspensions, with further review
Summary
Senate Bill 717, which would allow certain exempt employees to grieve suspensions or discharges, passed the committee with a defective date to allow more discussion after mixed testimony from unions and DHEARD.
Senate Bill 717, which would repeal a prohibition preventing certain exempt employees from grieving a suspension or discharge, moved out of the Senate Committee on Labor and Technology on Jan. 29 with a recommendation to pass as a Senate Draft 1 and a defective date to allow further discussion.
Labor unions and public employee groups supported the change. "We stand in strong support," said Kamaka Kamala, government affairs manager for United Public Workers. HGA and the Hawaii State AFL-CIO also submitted testimony in support.
Local government human resources officials and the Department of Human Resources Development opposed or urged caution. Midori Hirai, appearing for the City and County of Honolulu human resources department, noted that the issue has been a traditional collective bargaining matter. DHEARD Director Bridal Hashimoto told the committee the department "respectfully oppose[s] this measure" because exempt employees are considered at-will and the state has an internal complaint procedure available. Hashimoto said the statute should remain as a negotiable collective bargaining matter and that employees already have an internal review avenue.
Committee members said they wanted to keep the measure moving for further discussion and adopted a recommendation to pass with amendments and a defective date to allow additional negotiation and drafting. The committee recorded the excused absences of Senators Ihara and Moriwaki during the vote; no recorded no votes were announced.
