2025-01-30 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board January 30, 2025 MR. HONG: The problem we have is, I contend that this is actually a due process violation. This is not TCBY where it's all the pleasure, none of the guilt. They can't hide behind they can't raise a grievance as the reason why my client lost his position and then say, "Oh, by the way, you can't know anything about the grievance." We're entitled to actually go into some of that because they raised it as their reason for cancelling the recruitment. Otherwise, we are handcuffed. We can't —we're handcuffed because —or prejudiced because we can't actually look into what happened and why it happened. CHR. CABANAS: Well, anytime you have a settlement —that's, as you know, Mr. Hong that's the final decision. And so, I'm going to ask Mr. Halvorson for guidance at this point. Jim, can you interject, please, for the Board? MR. HALVORSON: Yeah. No, I understand Mr. Hong's objection and I think he's entitled to know if the Assistant Fire Chief knows who the grievant is, but I don't think that the identity of the grievant should be disclosed. CHR. CABANAS: Right. Okay. All right, Mr. Hong, you may proceed. MR. HONG: Thank you. So, Chief, you know who the grievant is, right? MR. OKINAKA: Yes, I do. MR. HONG: Do you socialize with him at all? MS. TAVARES: Objection. This is irrelevant. MR. HONG: Actually, it's not irrelevant. It goes directly to the reason why you take the Number one guy on the list of eligibles, and you all of a sudden throw it all out for somebody who scored probably in the bottom of the list. CHR. CABANAS: From what we have read, what the Board has read, the decision to cancel the recruitment was Human Resources decision, not the Hawaii Fire Department's decision. MR. HONG: Okay, I withdraw the question. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. HONG: And I'll move on to a new question. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. HONG: Fair to say that the grievant's ranking was the lowest of the list of eligion the list of eligibles? Page 9