After years of delay, the State of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii have been ordered to compensate United Public Workers members for their owed Temporary Hazard Pay for hours worked during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. These two arbitration decisions continue a trend-setting precedent for other jurisdictions to resolve the issue once and for all.
In two separate decisions posted in November, arbitrators assigned to our union’s grievances regarding the THP for Executive Branch employees (including DAGS, DBED, DCR, DES, DFM, DHHL, DHS, DLNR, DOD, DOH, HSPLS, DOA, and DOT) and the University of Hawaii granted a severe hazard pay differential of 15% for all hours worked.
The case against the Executive Branch isn’t over. The arbitrator has awarded at least 15% for all hours worked and has also given members the opportunity to provide testimony supporting an award for the most severe hazard pay differential, 25%.
As with all of the prior THP decisions and settlement offers from employers to Hawaii’s public sector union workers, the next step will be to pursue funding, which in this case will come from the Hawaii State Legislature. We will soon call on members to come together and push their legislators to approve funding.
These wins follow our recent agreement with the County of Kauai. Mayor Kawakami approved a 24-month THP of 15% on all hours worked, aligning with the Acoba Decision in Honolulu County. All of these awards are in accordance with the contract and include employees who have left, retired, or passed away.
This leaves three jurisdictions to address before we can rest on the issue of pandemic THP. The Department of Education, Hawaii County, and HHSC have delayed arbitration from the outset—seemingly waiting for developments in the Executive Branch. Now that a decision has been made, it is only a matter of time before we anticipate an arbitration award or settlement for the remaining jurisdictions.
Mahalo for your patience. Guaranteeing that our contract is secure and cannot be bypassed by any employer is nearly as important as having that additional money to support our family. We look forward to the day all United Public Workers members will be made whole.
