by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The Civil Service Commission has deemed four recent hires at the port authority null and void. During a brief hearing last night, the commission signed an order outlining their position with regard to the hiring. The Commission was asked to conduct post audits on a batch of seven hires at the agency. Four of the seven were found not to have met the minimum qualifications for the accounting and stevedore positions they were hired for.

Port general manager Joanne Brown announced, "Certainly for us we have to take back this decision that has been made to the Port and we determine from there how to proceed. I mean, we deferred this evening to whatever decision the commission desired to make. This is their decision."

Brown says management will go back and determine how to proceed now that the commission has made its determination. Options include termination or moving the individuals to other positions at the port that they do qualify for. There are also some concerns about whether the four employees will have appeal rights since they are now considered classified employees of the government.