PART I. GENERAL CIVIL SERVICE PROVISIONS

 

Note

 

  Part heading amended by L 2000, c 253, §4.

 

§76-1  Purposes; merit principle.  It isthe purpose of this chapter to require each jurisdiction to establish andmaintain a separately administered civil service system based on the meritprinciple.  The merit principle is the selection of persons based on theirfitness and ability for public employment and the retention of employees basedon their demonstrated appropriate conduct and productive performance.  It isalso the purpose of this chapter to build a career service in government, freefrom coercive political influences, to render impartial service to the publicat all times, according to the dictates of ethics and morality and incompliance with all laws.

In order to achieve these purposes, it is thedeclared policy of the State that the human resource program within eachjurisdiction be administered in accordance with the following:

(1)  Equal opportunity for all in compliance with alllaws prohibiting discrimination.  No person shall be discriminated against inexamination, appointment, reinstatement, reemployment, promotion, transfer,demotion, or removal, with respect to any position when the work may beefficiently performed by the person without hazard or danger to the health andsafety of the person or others;

(2)  Impartial selection of individuals for publicservice by means of competitive tests which are fair, objective, and practical;

(3)  Incentives for competent employees within theservice, whether financial or promotional opportunities and other performancebased group and individual awards that encourage continuous improvement toachieve superior performance;

(4)  Reasonable job security for competent employeesand discharge of unnecessary or inefficient employees with the right to grieveand appeal personnel actions through the:

(A)  Contractual grievance procedure foremployees covered by chapter 89; or

(B)  Internal complaint procedures and themerit appeals board for employees excluded from coverage under chapter 89;

(5)  Equal pay for equal work shall apply betweenclasses in the same bargaining unit among jurisdictions for those classesdetermined to be equal through systematic classification of positions based onobjective criteria and adequate job evaluation, unless it has been agreed inaccordance with chapter 89 to negotiate the repricing of classes; and

(6)  Harmonious and cooperative relations betweengovernment and its employees, including employee organizations representingthem, to develop and maintain a well-trained, efficient, and productive workforce that utilizes advanced technology to ensure effective governmentoperations and delivery of public services. [L 1955, c 274, pt of §1; RL 1955,§3-1; am L 1963, c 14, §1; HRS §76-1; am L 1973, c 177, §1(1); am L 1984, c101, §1; am L 1992, c 33, §5; am L 1994, c 56, §4; am L 2000, c 253, §5]

 

Law Journals and Reviews

 

  Employee Rights UnderJudicial Scrutiny:  Prevalent Policy Discourse and the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. 14 UH L. Rev. 189.

 

Case Notes

 

  Public employment isnot a fundamental constitutional right.  402 F. Supp. 84.

  Rights existing byvirtue of civil service status may be lost by repeal or amendment of the civilservice law.  48 H. 370, 405 P.2d 772.

  The general prohibitionin §89-9(d) against a public employer and the exclusive representative of acollective bargaining unit agreeing to a "proposal inconsistent with meritprinciples" is subject to §89-9(d)'s provisions allowing for, inter alia,negotiation of promotion and demotion procedures in a collective bargainingagreement and a grievance process for violation thereof; this section, RevisedCharter of Honolulu §§6-302, 6-306, 6-308, and rules of the civil servicecommission §§13-2 and 13-3 do not conflict with §89-9(d).  106 H. 205, 103 P.3d365.

  Cited:  413 U.S. 601,93 S. Ct. 2908.