§89-5  Hawaii labor relations board. (a)  There is created a Hawaii labor relations board to ensure that collectivebargaining is conducted in accordance with this chapter and that the meritprinciple under section 76-1 is maintained.

(b)  The board shall be composed of threemembers of which (1) one member shall be representative of management, (2) onemember shall be representative of labor, and (3) the third member, thechairperson, shall be representative of the public.  All members shall beappointed by the governor for terms of six years each.  Public employers andemployee organizations representing public employees may submit to the governorfor consideration names of persons to serve as members of the board and thegovernor shall first consider these persons in selecting the members of theboard.

(c)  Each member shall hold office until themember's successor is appointed and qualified.  Because cumulative experienceand continuity in office are essential to the proper administration of thischapter, it is declared to be in the public interest to continue board membersin office as long as efficiency is demonstrated, notwithstanding the provisionof section 26-34, which limits the appointment of a member of a board orcommission to two terms.

(d)  The members shall devote full time totheir duties as members of the board.  Effective July 1, 2005, the chairpersonof the board shall be paid a salary set at eighty-seven per cent of the salaryof the director of labor and industrial relations, and the salary of each ofthe other members shall be ninety-five per cent of the chairperson's salary. No member shall hold any other public office or be in the employment of theState or a county, or any department or agency thereof, or any employeeorganization during the member's term.

(e)  Any action taken by the board shall be bya simple majority of the members of the board.  All decisions of the boardshall be reduced to writing and shall state separately its finding of fact andconclusions.  Any vacancy in the board shall not impair the authority of theremaining members to exercise all the powers of the board.  The governor mayappoint an acting member of the board during the temporary absence from theState or the illness of any regular member.  An acting member, during theacting member's term of service, shall have the same powers and duties as theregular member.

(f)  The chairperson of the board shall beresponsible for the administrative functions of the board.  The board mayappoint an executive officer, mediators, arbitrators, and hearing officers, andemploy other assistants as it may deem necessary in the performance of itsfunctions, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation and provide forreimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in theperformance of their duties within the amounts made available by appropriationstherefor.  Section 28-8.3 notwithstanding, an attorney employed by the board asa full-time staff member may represent the board in litigation, draft legaldocuments for the board, and provide other necessary legal services to theboard and shall not be deemed to be a deputy attorney general.

(g)  The board shall be within the departmentof labor and industrial relations for budgetary and administrative purposesonly.  All members of the board and employees other than clerical andstenographic employees shall be exempt from chapters 76 and 89.  Clerical andstenographic employees shall be appointed in accordance with chapter 76.

(h)  At the close of each fiscal year, theboard shall make a written report to the governor on its activities, includingthe cases and their dispositions, and the names, duties, and salaries of itsofficers and employees.  Copies of the report shall be transmitted to the otherchief executives, the exclusive representatives, and the legislative body ofeach jurisdiction.

(i)  In addition to the powers and functionsprovided in other sections of this chapter, the board shall:

(1)  Establish procedures for, investigate, and resolve,any dispute concerning the designation of an appropriate bargaining unit andthe application of section 89-6 to specific employees and positions;

(2)  Establish procedures for, resolve disputes withrespect to, and supervise the conduct of, elections for the determination ofemployee representation;

(3)  Resolve controversies under this chapter;

(4)  Conduct proceedings on complaints of prohibitedpractices by employers, employees, and employee organizations and take suchactions with respect thereto as it deems necessary and proper;

(5)  Hold such hearings and make such inquiries, as itdeems necessary, to carry out properly its functions and powers, and for thepurpose of such hearings and inquiries, administer oaths and affirmations,examine witnesses and documents, take testimony and receive evidence, compelattendance of witnesses and the production of documents by the issuance ofsubpoenas, and delegate such powers to any member of the board or any personappointed by the board for the performance of its functions;

(6)  Determine qualifications and establish, afterreviewing nominations submitted by the public employers and employeeorganizations, lists of qualified persons, broadly representative of thepublic, to be available to serve as mediators or arbitrators;

(7)  Establish a fair and reasonable range of daily orhourly rates at which mediators and arbitrators on the lists established underparagraph (6) are to be compensated;

(8)  Conduct studies on problems pertaining to publicemployee-management relations, and make recommendations with respect thereto tothe legislative bodies; request information and data from state and countydepartments and agencies and employee organizations necessary to carry out itsfunctions and responsibilities; make available to all concerned parties,including mediators and arbitrators, statistical data relating to wages,benefits, and employment practices in public and private employment to assistthem in resolving issues in negotiations;

(9)  Adopt rules relative to the exercise of itspowers and authority and to govern the proceedings before it in accordance withchapter 91; and

(10)  Execute all of its responsibilities in a timelymanner so as to facilitate and expedite the resolution of issues before it.

(j)  For the purpose of minimizing travel andper diem expenses for parties who are not located on Oahu, the board shallutilize more cost efficient means such as teleconferencing which does notrequire appearances on Oahu, whenever practicable, to conduct its proceedings. Alternatively, it shall consider conducting its proceedings on another islandwhenever it is more cost efficient in consideration of the parties and thewitnesses involved. [L 1970, c 171, pt of §2; am L 1971, c 49, §1; am L 1974, c17, §1 and c 116, §2; am L 1975, c 58, §11; am L 1976, c 41, §1; am L 1978, c196, §1; am L 1982, c 129, §3; am L 1983, c 10, §1 and c 11, §1; am L 1985, c251, §4; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 128, §3; am L 1989, c 329, §2; am L 1990, c140, §3; am L Sp 1993, c 8, §53; am L 2000, c 253, §95; am L 2001, c 55, §5; amL 2002, c 232, §1; am L 2005, c 226, §3]

 

Attorney General Opinions

 

  Member holding over will be a de jure, not merely a de facto,officer.  Att. Gen. Op. 73-7.

 

Case Notes

 

  Hawaii public employment relations board is entitled toquasi-judicial immunity.  472 F. Supp. 1123.

  Hawaii public employment relations board was empowered tomake declaratory ruling regarding whether violation of collective bargainingagreement is a prohibited practice.  60 H. 436, 591 P.2d 113.

  In exercising its jurisdiction to decide union complaintregarding State's request that union remove campaign materials from the unionbulletin board on the fourth floor of state building to comply with the stateethics code, the Hawaii labor relations board was empowered to make suchinquiries "as it deemed necessary and proper" under subsection (i)(4)with respect to the application of the ethics code; thus, during the hearingregarding the union's complaint, the board properly received the testimony ofthe executive director of the ethics commission pursuant to subsection (i)(5). 116 H. 73, 170 P.3d 324.

  Subsection (b)(4) cited as empowering board to resolvedisputes between employees and their unions.  2 H. App. 50, 625 P.2d 1046.