Paula A. Nakayama

HAWAII STATE TEACHERS ASS'N v. Abercrombie

Hawaii Supreme Court · 2012-01-17

This case involved Hawaii public employee unions challenging Governor Linda Lingle's executive order imposing three-day-per-month furloughs on state workers, including teachers, to reduce labor costs; the unions claimed the order violated constitutional rights to collective bargaining, retirement benefits, and separation of powers. The Hawaii Supreme Court held that the circuit court had erred in addressing the claims directly, ruling instead that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board possesses exclusive original jurisdiction over disputes arising under HRS Chapter 89 governing public-sector collective bargaining. The court reasoned that allowing plaintiffs to recast statutory labor issues as constitutional claims would frustrate the legislative intent to have the expert administrative agency decide such matters first, following its precedent in HGEA v. Lingle, and therefore vacated the circuit court's judgment and remanded the case.

labor & employmentprocedure

GOV'T EMPLOYEES ASS'N v. Lingle

Hawaii Supreme Court · 2010-09-08 · cited 6×

This case arose when Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle issued an executive order imposing furloughs on state employees to address a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall caused by the global financial crisis. The Hawaii Government Employees Association sued, claiming the furloughs violated collective bargaining rights under the state constitution and constituted an unlawful unilateral change under HRS § 89-9(d). The circuit court ruled for the union and enjoined the plan, but the Hawaii Supreme Court vacated that judgment. The court held that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board possessed exclusive original jurisdiction over the statutory prohibited-practice claims, and that the lower court should have allowed the Board to resolve those issues before addressing any constitutional questions. The matter was remanded for further proceedings consistent with that jurisdictional ruling.

labor & employmentprocedure

State v. Corder

Hawaii Supreme Court · 2009-12-23

State v. Corder

Hawaii Supreme Court · 2009-11-19 · cited 6×

Kona Village Realty, Inc. v. Sunstone Realty Partners Xiv, LLC

Hawaii Supreme Court · 2009-09-25

In the Interest of Aw

Hawaii Supreme Court · 2009-05-28

Affiliations

Decision record

Paula A. Nakayama

Affiliations

Decision record