Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto ruled this morning that Gov. Linda Lingle does not have the authority to unilaterally order furloughs for state workers.

The judge found that Lingle’s order of three furlough days a month for two years was unconstitutional because changes to workers’ wages and hours should be the subject of collective bargaining.
The judge ruled, however, that Lingle does have the authority to restrict state spending at the state Department of Education and the University of Hawaii. The governor has said she would reduce spending at public schools and UH in the equivalent amount to her furlough plans.
The governor has said previously that she would resort to mass layoffs if her furlough plans were blocked in court.
After Sakamoto’s ruling today, Lingle said she has made no decision on layoffs yet and will consult with the state attorney general before she makes any decision.
Sakamoto said it was premature to rule on a request by public-sector labor unions that layoff procedures be subject of collective bargaining because Lingle has not yet ordered layoffs.
Lingle wanted to use furloughs and equivalent spending cuts to save $688 million and help close an estimated $730 million budget deficit through June 2011.
Union leaders, who had gone to court to stop the governor, were gratified by the judge’s ruling but acknowledged it does not solve the larger problem of the budget deficit.
Randy Perreira, the executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, said the unions would contact a federal mediator about a new round of contract talks with the state as early as today.
Perreira said state workers are willing to accept sacrifices to help with the deficit, but said any specifics should be the topic of negotiations.
“We’re obviously pleased with the ruling but at the same time we’ll note that the ruling does not solve the problem that we all face,” he said. “And we are ready and willing to be bargaining with the governor in an attempt to try to resolve at least our share of the revenue shortfall that the state faces.”
Union contracts for the HGEA, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the United Public Workers and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly expired on Tuesday. Judge Sakamoto ruled that existing contract provisions cannot be changed by the state while the parties negotiate.
At the court hearing, Herbert Takahashi, an attorney representing the HSTA and UPW, argued that workers’ collective bargaining rights under the state Constitution would be rendered meaningless if Lingle was able to unilaterally order furloughs or cite the recession as an excuse to bypass talks.
State Attorney General Mark Bennett told the court that the question of whether Lingle had the right to order furloughs should first be determined by the Hawaii Labor Relations Board. But Bennett said he believed the governor had the authority to furlough workers and respond to what is an undeniable fiscal emergency.
Sakamoto, however, said unions had the right to come to court for a preliminary injunction because Lingle gave just a month’s notice of furloughs. The judge said the court had to intervene to stop a constitutional violation.
Sakamoto said the governor’s furlough plans, which were equivalent to about a 14 percent pay cut, strike at the heart of state workers’ livelihood.
“The nature of a 13 to 15 percent cut in these wages sets in motion changes of jobs, failure of workers to make rents, mortgages, failure of affecting their families to pay tuitions, to pay their loans, creating bad credit ratings, and cascading effects from these events,” the judge said.