Guam Civil Service cases being dismissed due to 180 days statute expiring

Two complaints from firefighters with the Guam Fire Department (GFD) filed with the Guam Civil Service Commission (CSC)  are abruptly dismissed after the commission says that the 180 days statute has expired.

After they voted unanimously to null and void fire specialist promotions in one of the cases.

The delay of the hearings is not at the fault of the complainants but rather the result of the commission lacking quorum.

It was back in late September when the board of commissioners with the Guam Civil Service Commission listened to the findings from a post-audit staff investigation that was conducted after the complainant, John Anthony Muna, a firefighter II with the Guam Fire Department applied to be promoted to the fire service specialist position but was not selected. 

He believed that he should have gotten the promotion but his score and rating sheet were manipulated after his interview. 

In the Sept. 28 hearing, the commission with a unanimous vote of 4-0, voted to provisionally null and void all 33 fire service specialist promotions pending response from GFD.

Fast forward to Nov. 28, the commission was set to make a decision on the case, either moving forward with the null and void of the promotions or the remedy GFD offered in their response.

A second complaint from another GFD firefighter II, Mark Snyder was also set to be heard, but both cases ultimately were dismissed.

“We have exceeded the statute of limitations. The statute is very clear, we need to complete the investigation within 180 days. Right now according to the advisement of legal counsel and the director, as of today, with Snyder's case, it is 278 days, we have exceeded the 180. So in other words, we lack jurisdiction to make a decision in this case, we're barred.”

That was Guam Civil Service Chairperson, Juan K. Calvo breaking the news to Snyder and his GFT representative Robert Koss.

“Our staff commissioner, did everything they can to conduct this investigation expeditiously it's not our fault as well. These complainants suffer because of this statute,” He said.

The commission said time just ticks away because of the law.

Calvo continued, “They (legislature) have been approached to amend that law. It gives the commission the opportunity to make sure the investigation is done correctly. But we haven't heard yet on our recommendation to amend the law.”

But according to Oversight Chair Sen. Joe San Agustin, he hasn't heard anything from the commission.

San Agustin said, “If the commission just reaches out, don't talk to the media or complain, reach out to me or any other senator for that matter and express your desire, what you hope to accomplish and we go from there. But none of them have reached out to me. I bump into them every and now and then, and I ask them how everything is going and they say that everything is good and okay.”

Another issue is that the CSC is lacking three members, which makes it difficult to make quorum and even get a unanimous vote

Civil Service Commission should have 7 commissioners. There are 4. A decision is made by a rule of 4. So if all 4 can't make it to a hearing, then there's no quorum and the hearing is canceled or postponed until a future date. So under the law, the Governor of Guam has to fill a vacancy in the commission within 30 days. We’ve have 3 positions that have been open for far longer than 30 days,” Robert Koss said. 

So what happens to Muna, Snyder and other GovGuam employees who have been dealt a similar fate? 

Koss explained, “The appeal has to then go to court. For example, employees that are terminated, that is going to be a very costly proposition for someone who has no income. It does seem to be working against the employee. For the union, it's increased our cost greatly because of utilization of attorneys to appeal those cases. Fortunately that is what dues are for and we are able to handle that. For the average guy who is not a union member, it's going to be a problem.”

It appears that many cases that are going before the commission are getting dismissed due to the statute expiring. It's something San Agustin can't wrap his head around.

“We need to figure out what needs to happen. And they need to speed it up.....Civil Service Commission, get your act together and speed it up,” He said. 

San Agustin also expressed, “It appears the commission is not moving fast enough...they need to get on the ball. That's why they took the job...we confirmed them. Get on the boat! Get it done! Your concern should be the well-being of the employee. ...Lick your wounds and move on.”

The bottom line? 

Changes need to be made quickly. Koss believes getting those three positions in the commission filled would be good as well as making changes to the time limitations for cases.