Thousands of state and county employees will receive larger checks in back hazard pay for working during the pandemic under a settlement offered by Gov. Josh Green's administration to the state's largest union.
Members of the Hawaii Government Employees Association finished voting on the settlement on Sunday, with the union reporting that 88% of those who participated supported the new agreement.
The preliminary settlement covers approximately 16,000 state and county employees represented by HGEA.
It provides for a payment of $20,000 to public employees who physically report working for at least 420 days between March 4, 2020 and March 25, 2022.
Public servants who reported physical work for less than 420 days during that period and also worked from home will be eligible for a $10,000 payment, according to a brief in the settlement document distributed to HGEA members on Monday. .
HGEA and the American Public Workers Union are negotiating and fighting in arbitration to enforce hazard pay provisions that have been in contracts for years but have never been extended to so many workers. I have continued to do so.
It wasn't immediately clear how much the new settlement would cost the state and counties, but state lawmakers are moving forward with a bill that could be used as a diversion vehicle to pay union settlements.
Hawaii County officials estimate that resolving hazard pay claims on Hawaii Island could cost the county up to $50 million. An agreement establishing hazard pay for Maui police officers was reached in February and cost an estimated $13 million.
Honolulu Managing Director Mike Formby said in a written statement Monday that the city has not yet estimated how much the HGEA settlement will cost.
He said Honolulu city officials are taking steps to prepare for the cost of hazard pay, which could be up to $100 million, but the city may have to structure payments over two fiscal years.
“Our commitment is to be fair to essential workers while honoring our obligation to taxpayers to exercise fiscal prudence,” he said in a statement.
The new HGEA contract covers Unit 2, which includes blue-collar supervisory personnel. Unit 3 includes unsupervised white-collar workers. Unit 4 are white-collar supervisory employees. Unit 9 is comprised of nurses from the state's medical and correctional facilities. Unit 13 includes professional or scientific employees. and Unit 14 are law enforcement personnel, including sheriff's deputies.
Voting by union members on the proposed hazard pay agreement began Wednesday and ended Sunday afternoon.
An HGEA spokesperson declined to discuss the agreement until it is finalized.