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



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



(c)  Each member shall hold office until the
member's successor is appointed and qualified.  Because cumulative experience
and continuity in office are essential to the proper administration of this
chapter, it is declared to be in the public interest to continue board members
in office as long as efficiency is demonstrated, notwithstanding the provision
of section 26-34, which limits the appointment of a member of a board or
commission to two terms.



(d)  The members shall devote full time to
their duties as members of the board.  Effective July 1, 2005, the chairperson
of the board shall be paid a salary set at eighty-seven per cent of the salary
of the director of labor and industrial relations, and the salary of each of
the 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 the
State or a county, or any department or agency thereof, or any employee
organization during the member's term.



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



(f)  The chairperson of the board shall be
responsible for the administrative functions of the board.  The board may
appoint an executive officer, mediators, arbitrators, and hearing officers, and
employ other assistants as it may deem necessary in the performance of its
functions, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation and provide for
reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the
performance of their duties within the amounts made available by appropriations
therefor.  Section 28-8.3 notwithstanding, an attorney employed by the board as
a full-time staff member may represent the board in litigation, draft legal
documents for the board, and provide other necessary legal services to the
board and shall not be deemed to be a deputy attorney general.



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



(h)  At the close of each fiscal year, the
board shall make a written report to the governor on its activities, including
the cases and their dispositions, and the names, duties, and salaries of its
officers and employees.  Copies of the report shall be transmitted to the other
chief executives, the exclusive representatives, and the legislative body of
each jurisdiction.



(i)  In addition to the powers and functions
provided 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 and
the application of section 89-6 to specific employees and positions;



(2)  Establish procedures for, resolve disputes with
respect to, and supervise the conduct of, elections for the determination of
employee representation;



(3)  Resolve controversies under this chapter;



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



(5)  Hold such hearings and make such inquiries, as it
deems necessary, to carry out properly its functions and powers, and for the
purpose of such hearings and inquiries, administer oaths and affirmations,
examine witnesses and documents, take testimony and receive evidence, compel
attendance of witnesses and the production of documents by the issuance of
subpoenas, and delegate such powers to any member of the board or any person
appointed by the board for the performance of its functions;



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



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



(8)  Conduct studies on problems pertaining to public
employee-management relations, and make recommendations with respect thereto to
the legislative bodies; request information and data from state and county
departments and agencies and employee organizations necessary to carry out its
functions 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 assist
them in resolving issues in negotiations;



(9)  Adopt rules relative to the exercise of its
powers and authority and to govern the proceedings before it in accordance with
chapter 91; and



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



(j)  For the purpose of minimizing travel and
per diem expenses for parties who are not located on Oahu, the board shall
utilize more cost efficient means such as teleconferencing which does not
require appearances on Oahu, whenever practicable, to conduct its proceedings. 
Alternatively, it shall consider conducting its proceedings on another island
whenever it is more cost efficient in consideration of the parties and the
witnesses involved. [L 1970, c 171, pt of §2; am L 1971, c 49, §1; am L 1974, c
17, §1 and c 116, §2; am L 1975, c 58, §11; am L 1976, c 41, §1; am L 1978, c
196, §1; am L 1982, c 129, §3; am L 1983, c 10, §1 and c 11, §1; am L 1985, c
251, §4; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 128, §3; am L 1989, c 329, §2; am L 1990, c
140, §3; am L Sp 1993, c 8, §53; am L 2000, c 253, §95; am L 2001, c 55, §5; am
L 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 to
quasi-judicial immunity.  472 F. Supp. 1123.



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



  In exercising its jurisdiction to decide union complaint
regarding State's request that union remove campaign materials from the union
bulletin board on the fourth floor of state building to comply with the state
ethics code, the Hawaii labor relations board was empowered to make such
inquiries "as it deemed necessary and proper" under subsection (i)(4)
with respect to the application of the ethics code; thus, during the hearing
regarding the union's complaint, the board properly received the testimony of
the 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 resolve
disputes between employees and their unions.  2 H. App. 50, 625 P.2d 1046.