2014-09-17 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Board of Appeals COMMUNI- CATIONS Item 5): NEW BUSINESS Item 6): September 17, 2014 The voice vote, was as follows: AYES: Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago, and Chair Kuewa-4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, Communications. (There were none.) The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, New Business. MERIT APPEALS BOARD APPEAL FORM Ms. Noda directed the Board's attention to the Merit Appeals Board's appeal form and proceeded with her recommendations: The first proposed change is on Page 2, Item Number 10, which adds language that the appellant would be given a choice to have their appeal heard in an open meeting to the public or a closed meeting to the public. This would give the Board an indication on how they would proceed. She mentioned that the Board of Ethics and the Fire Commission has a statement similar to this. Chair Kuewa asked Ms. Noda to explain why this would be necessary. Ms. Noda replied that because every complaint or appeal that comes before the Merit Appeals Board is an employment action, it would be a confidential matter. And so, the appellant has the right for their appeal to be heard in a closed confidential hearing. An example would be if there was an open recruitment and someone from HELCO was applying for a Countyjob, they may not necessarily want their current employer to be on notice that they're applying for another job. She also recommended that the appellant's name not be listed on the Merit Appeals Board agenda. The appellant can indicate to the Board whether they want a closed confidential hearing. It makes it clearer for everyone to be on notice ahead of time to know what the appellant is inclined to do. Page 2