Furloughs for state employees halted
July 3, 2009
Hawaii: First Circuit Court judge Karl Sakamoto issued an injunction against Governor Linda Lingle when she attempted to require mandatory furloughs for state employees. She made the attempt in order to address the budget shortfall of $729 million over the next two years. If passed, the mandatory furloughs would have required three unpaid days off per month for thousands of public employees. Three state employee unions challenged the move, and judge Sakamoto agreed with them that Lingle was overstepping her authority by failing to negotiate with state employee representatives.
"Furloughs involve wages, actual wages decreasing," Sakamoto said. "Furloughs as core subjects of collective bargaining must be negotiated."
Attorney General Mark Bennett has said the state is seriously considering an appeal to Sakamoto's ruling.[1]
Footnotes
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Hawaii • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Hawaii
State courts:
Hawaii Supreme Court • Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals • Hawaii Circuit Courts • Hawaii District Courts • Hawaii Family Courts
State resources:
Courts in Hawaii • Hawaii judicial elections • Judicial selection in Hawaii
