UHPA Contract Funded by Legislature
On September 1, 2017 the Legislature approved the salary appropriations for the UHPA contract for 2017 and 2018. The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature. He is expected to sign.
Today’s information indicates that back pay will not be received in the October 5 payroll. It may be late October or November depending on the mechanics of the retroactive calculations. A more accurate date will be known in the next couple of weeks.
And for the future… the Hawaii Labor Relations Board issued a Declaratory Ruling on August 28, 2017 that states that Chapter 89, the Collective Bargaining law, “does not bar the Governor or the Legislature from addressing or not addressing cost items as defined in HRS chapter 89 during a special session”.
This means a Governor and the Legislature may take action during a special legislative session to appropriate funds for public employee contracts. This issue was raised in early August by the Governor’s office and has now been satisfactorily resolved.