Opinion ID: 4540256
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ah Sing’s employment at Connections

Text: Ah Sing was initially appointed on September 5, 2000, to a nineteen-hours-per-week part-time custodial position at Connections at its Mountain View campus. All Connections 3 In summary, UPW’s second through fourth points of error arising out of the second appeal to the circuit court allege the circuit court erred in: failing to address UPW’s argument that if Ah Sing was in fact not a civil service employee, Connections and the DOE were required to bargain with UPW prior to contracting out his position; affirming HLRB’s application of the exhaustion doctrine to Ah Sing’s claim; and affirming the denial of UPW’s motion to amend its complaint to include a violation of the stipulation between UPW and the DOE. 3  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  employees were appointed by the local school board on a year-toyear basis with a not to exceed (“NTE”) date of June 30th of each school year. Ah Sing’s initial appointment was classified “exempt,” with a NTE date of June 30, 2001. Effective February 8, 2001, after Connections moved from the Mountain View campus to downtown Hilo, Ah Sing’s employment was increased to full-time (40 hours per week). At that time, Ah Sing became a member of UPW bargaining Unit 1. An employee personnel action report dated July 23, 2001, stated that, as of that date, Ah Sing was in a temporary, exempt, at-will position (“Position No. 111418”), and that the employment could “be terminated at any time within 24 hours notice.” On January 2, 2001, however, the then-DOE Personnel Director had memorialized a directive that, beginning with the 2001-02 school year, all charter schools’ employees would be in “temporary civil service positions” that would be filled applying normal civil service rules. On July 23, 2001, Ah Sing therefore submitted an application for a “Custodian II” civil service position, and on the next day, Connections recommended Ah Sing to a limited term appointment (“LTA”) as a temporary “School Custodian II,” with a NTE date of June 30, 2002.4 Ah 4 This is consistent with the January 2, 2001 DOE memorialized directive that, beginning with the 2001-02 school year, all public charter school positions would be “temporary civil service positions” and filled in accordance with normal civil service procedures. 4  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  Sing completed the civil service application paperwork, and on August 1, 2001, Ah Sing submitted a separation notice for his custodian Position No. 111418 to accept DOE civil service Position No. 56376. Ah Sing was informed that his job had changed to a civil service position, and an August 22, 2001 employee personnel action report indicates: (1) Ah Sing was rehired as a School Custodian II in Position No. 56376 effective August 2, 2001; (2) his appointment was for a limited term, with a NTE date of June 30, 2002; and (3) he was a member of bargaining Unit 1. An employee personnel action report for Ah Sing dated October 17, 2002, for the 2002-03 school year reflected that Ah Sing was appointed to the School Custodian II Position No. 56376 with a NTE date of June 30, 2003, and that effective July 2, 2002, his position was “[c]onver[ted]” to a civil service member from a probationary appointment. This report also states that “[t]he personnel actions shown above have been taken in compliance with the provisions of Chapter[] 76 [], HRS, as amended.” Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (“HRS”) Chapter 76 is the “Civil Service Law.” As noted, from the 2001-02 school year, the DOE had officially been treating public charter school employees as civil service employees. On June 9, 2003, however, the thenDirector of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Human Resources 5  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  Development (“DHRD”) wrote to the then-Superintendent of the DOE stating the DHRD’s position was that employees of public charter schools did not have civil service status and that the DHRD had been unaware until a few days before that its lists of eligible employees were being used to fill public charter school positions. In the meantime, a May 6, 2003 Connections letter addressed to Ah Sing indicated the school board had taken action the day before “to decline to renew your 89 day contract as of June 30, 2003.” No reason was stated in the letter. A DOE “Separation Notice” for “Classified Personnel” was signed by Ah Sing on June 27, 2003, and it indicated a separation date effective June 30, 2003, from the School Custodian II Position No. 56376. The notice was signed by a Connections representative on June 30, 2003, and by the DOE Assistant or Complex Area Superintendent on July 8, 2003. A July 17, 2003 letter from the Connections “CEO” to Ah Sing stated the school board had decided to eliminate Ah Sing’s position “given the limited funds we will be receiving for the coming school year.” After Ah Sing’s position was eliminated, custodial work was performed at Connections by non-bargaining unit employees, an independent contractor paid for by the school’s landlord, and non-profit entities. 6  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER