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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-17 Merit Appeals Board MinutesMERIT BOARD OF APPEALS Department of Human Resources 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 102 Hilo, Hawai'i September 17, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board, County of Hawai'i, was called Item 1): to order at 11:06 a.m. by Chairperson Jubilee N. Kuewa, at the Department of Human Resources Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 2, Hilo, Hawai'i, on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. ROLL CALL Present: Mr. Jubilee N. Kuewa, Chair Ms. June R. Rabago, Vice -Chair Mr. David K. S. Nahuina, Member Ms. Ida H. Otake, Member Also Present: Ms. Sharon Toriano, Director, HR Department Mr. Nicholas Hermes, Deputy Director, HR Department Ms. Diane Noda, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Ofc. of the Corp. Counsel Mr. Julian T. White, Deputy Attorney General, State Department of the Attorney General Ms. Gabriella Cabanas, HR Manager II, HR Department Ms. Antoinette L. Nakatani, Appellant Ms. Bobby Jean Leithead Todd, Director, Environmental Management Dept. Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary -Reporter, HR Department ADDENDUM TO The Chair directed the Board to the next order of business, Addendum to AGENDA Agenda. Item 2): (There was none.) STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE PUBLIC Statements from the Public. Item 3): (There were none.) APPROVAL OF The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, MINUTES (Item 4): Approval of Minutes of May 21 and June 25, 2014 Motion: Ms. Rabago moved to approve the minutes of May 21 and June 25, 2014. Seconded by Chair Kuewa. 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 Merit Board of Appeals September 17, 2014 Chair Kuewa inquired if it would be helpful to the appellant if there was an explanatory statement regarding these options. Ms. Noda replied that her initial thought and recommendation was to not clutter up the appeal form. If there were questions regarding the form, they would e-mail or contact the Board Secretary. Another option would be to have a third option saying that they would like to make a decision at the time of the hearing. The second proposed change is located at the bottom of Page 2, by adding the word "calendar'—twenty "calendar' days. She referenced the "Torres" appeal, as Ms. Torres was untimely because she had made the assumption that it was twenty "work' days rather than twenty "calendar" days to file her appeal, which is a shorter time period. By adding this language in, it would make it clearer. Another change is located at the bottom of Page 2 by deleting the old name of "Civil Service Commission" and changing it to the "Merit Appeals Board." At this time, there was some confusion regarding the paragraph located on Page 2, below Item Number 10, concerning the word "nor' printed in red ink. Ms. Noda clarified that the word "nor' already exists in the form and should not have been highlighted. Ms. Rabago asked for clarification that all references to "twenty days" will be changed to "twenty calendar days" and references to the word "Commission" would be changed to "Board." She inquired if the last sentence should read, "Department of Human Resources." Ms. Ota inquired about the title of "Department of Civil Service" which was referenced in the form. Motion: Ms. Rabago moved that Ms. Noda research the matter and report back to the Board at its next meeting. Seconded by Ms. Ota. The voice vote, was as follows: AYES: Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago, and Chair Kuewa —4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. Page 3 Merit Board of Appeals September 17, 2014 Mr. Nahuina inquired about the tracking highlight date in 2006, whether the name change took place at that time. Ms. Noda replied that about two years ago there was a Rule change to amend the name from "Civil Service Commission" to the "Merit Appeals Board." UNFINISHED BUSINESSThe Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, Item 7): Unfinished Business. STATUS UPDATE: COMMUNICATION NO. 13-02, RECEIVED ON AUGUST 1, 2013, FROM JAY ISHIBASHI, HGEA MCEC AGENT, APPEALING AN INVOLUNTARY TRANSFER TO ANOTHER POSITION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. (DEFERRED: 08/21/13, 09/18/13, 03/19/14, AND 05/21/14); AND COMMUNICATION NO. 13-02.1: FROM DIANE A. NODA, DEPUTY CORPORATION COUNSEL, DATED JULY 8, 2014, INFORMING THE BOARD THAT THE EMPLOYER WILL NOT BE FILING A MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL AT THIS TIME Ms. Noda apprised the Board that on September 12 she spoke with Mr. Ted Hong, who now represents the Appellant, Mr. Stanley Nakasone. Mr. Hong stated that they went to court regarding a related circuit court lawsuit and was hopeful that it may be resolved in the near future. He agreed with her proposal to request that the Board postpone this matter and that it be placed on the Board's January 2015 agenda for a status update. If there is a resolution to Mr. Nakasone's related case, Mr. Hong could contact the Board and request that this matter be placed on an earlier agenda. Also, he indicated that he would not be present at today's proceedings. Motion: Mr. Nahuina moved that this matter be postponed. Seconded by Ms. Rabago. The voice vote, was as follows: AYES: Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago, and Chair Kuewa —4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. Ms. Noda stated that Ms. Yamada sent an e-mail request to Mr. Hong asking him to submit a "Notice of Appearance" informing the Board that he is now the counsel for Mr. Nakasone and not Mr. Jay Ishibashi. Mr. Hong informed her verbally, but there was no official notice. Page 4 Merit Board of Appeals September 17, 2014 Chair Kuewa inquired whether the verbal notice was sufficient and Mr. White replied in the affirmative. BOARD APPROVAL REQUIRED: COMMUNICATION 14-01.10 FROM JULIAN T. WHITE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, TRANSMITTING THE FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER CONCERNING COMMUNICATION NO. 14-01, APPEALING A NON -SELECTION TO A POSITION WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK. BASED ON THE FORGOING FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, THE MERIT APPEALS BOARD ORDERS THE APPEAL BE DISMISSED AS UNTIMELY Motion: Ms. Rabago moved to accept the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order In the Matter of the Appeal of Doreen "Dee" M. Torres, Appellant. Seconded by Ms. Otake. The voice vote, was as follows: AYES: Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago, and Chair Kuewa – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. At this time, Chair Kuewa confirmed with Mr. White that a transmittal letter (and copy of the Findings of Fact) will be sent to Ms. Torres informing her of her appeal rights pursuant to Chapter 91. APPEAL HEARING: COMMUNICATION NO. 14-02. RECEIVED ON MAY 28, 2014, APPEALING A RECRUITMENT AND EXAMINATION (MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS) ACTION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES; AND COMMUNICATION NO. 14-02.1: FROM DIANE A. NODA, DEPUTY CORPORATION COUNSEL, DATED AUGUST 5, 2014, REQUESTING CONTINUANCE OF THE APPEAL HEARING FROM AUGUST 20, 2014 TO SEPTEMBER 17, 2014. THE APPELLANT HAS NO OBJECTIONS Note: The following transcript is in verbatim format and has not been summarized. CHR. KUEWA: Okay. I guess we're ready to convene the hearing. First of all, Ms. Nakatani, thank you for joining us. And we received your appeal and will be reviewing it today—have a hearing on it today. And I'd like to begin by introducing the Board Members you'll be speaking too. First off, I'm Jube Kuewa—I'm the Chair of the Merit Appeals Board. At this time—and just go around— Page 5 Merit Board of Appeals September 17, 2014 MS. RABAGO: I'm June Rabago. MS. OTAKE: And I'm Ida Otake. MR. NAHUINA: David Nahuina. CHR. KUEWA: Okay. And, also, introduce Julian White who is our Deputy— MR. WHITE: Good morning. CHR. KUEWA: From the Deputy Attorney General's Office and he will be counsel to the Merit Appeals Board—legal counsel. Okay? And do you know the County representative? Okay. Diane Noda—and he's one of our witnesses—Nick Hermes and will be introduced later. Thank you. This hearing is on the appeal of—oh, Ms. Nakatani, would you—do you wish to be called "Antoinette" or "Toni" or— MS. NAKATANI: "Toni" is good. CHR. KUEWA: Okay. That's fine. This hearing is on the appeal filed by Ms. Antoinette Nakatani. The issue in this case has been identified as were any Civil Service laws, rules, or regulations violated when the Department of Human Resources disqualified appellant's application for the Wastewater Operations Superintendent, upon Open Competitive recruitment because of appellant's failure to meet minimum requirement of three years of supervisory service. Okay, first off, are there any questions or disputes concerning the Board's jurisdiction of this matter? MS. NODA: None from the County. CHR. KUEWA: Ms. Nakatani? Let me back up a moment. Ms. Nakatani, did you wish to have an open—closed hearing? Julian, would you explain that? MR. WHITE: "Open" would be open to the public if you have any—if that's what you prefer. "Closed" would be members of the public would not be attending this matter. MS. NAKATANI: Yeah, "closed." CHR. KUEWA: Closed. All right. Thank you. Page 6 Merit Board of Appeals September 17, 2014 RECESS: The Chair called for a recess at 11:20 a.m. to convene the closed hearing. RECONVENE: The meeting reconvened at 2:30 p.m. Chair Kuewa informed the Members that the Board has two items remaining on their agenda: Annual Evaluation of the Director of Human Resources Director of Human Resources (HR) Goals and Objectives for FY 2014-2015; and Merit Appeals Board's Evaluation Tool for the Director of HR for FY 2014-2015. Director's Report A) HR Quarterly Reports B) Items of Current Interest Motion: Chair Kuewa moved to defer the Annual Evaluation of the Director of Human Resources and Director's Report to its next regularly scheduled meeting. Seconded by Ms. Rabago. The voice vote, was as follows: AYES: Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago, and Chair Kuewa — 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. SCHEDULE NEXT The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, Schedule MEETING DATE Next Meeting Date. Item 9): Chair Kuewa announced that their next regularly scheduled meeting would be held on Wednesday, October 15, 11 a.m., at the Human Resources Conference Room. Page 7 Merit Board of Appeals September 17, 2014 ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, at 2:51 p.m., the Chair declared the meeting Item 10): adjourned. Respectfully submitted, e� , pwo amada Secretary APPROVED: Jub eN_Kuew1 a Chair ST/gy Page 8