CSC works through grievance backlog, closes case pending nearly 8 years

The Civil Service Commission has closed an employee grievance case that had been backlogged for close to eight years as the commission continues working through pending appeals without a dedicated hearing officer.

CSC executive assistant Theresa Borja disclosed the unusually old case during a House Standing Committee on Ways and Means hearing last Aug. 21 on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers questioned the commission and the Office of Personnel Management about their readiness to handle employee grievances should the CNMI government move forward with furloughs.

Asked how long the commission’s oldest grievance appeal had been pending, Borja said the CSC had dealt with what it considered one of its “legendary cases” during the current fiscal year.

“It would be around close to eight years backlogged. However, we are proud to say that that case is closed,” Borja said.

Borja did not identify the employee involved or provide details about the grievance during that portion of the hearing.

The disclosure came after Ways and Means members questioned whether the CSC has sufficient capacity to handle grievances, particularly if furloughs lead to additional appeals from government employees.

Borja acknowledged that the commission already has a backlog and continues to seek funding for a hearing officer or additional training for commissioners who may have to adjudicate cases themselves.

“Yes, we are still trying to hopefully secure the funds for a hearing officer or even funds for training and development for our commissioners or whoever is going to, you know, take this role of adjudicating these hearings, because we are a bit backlogged because, you know, the commission is handling a lot of issues right now, and they are also working their best to also continue to move these cases along,” Borja said.

She said the commission is working to move existing cases forward while ensuring that those tasked with hearing them receive appropriate training.

“If not, then we will continue to ask for funding to have the commission have a, you know, professional service hearing officer through professional service or just getting a hearing officer on board through an FTE or number of personnel,” Borja said. “Either approach is fine with us. We just we are wanting to move the cases along so that there’s no cases to be backlogged anymore.”

Borja said the commission has repeatedly sought resources to address the problem.

“So like I mentioned, you know, the commission has been working within our means to move these cases along within, of course, our whatever the budget allows,” she said. “But yes, this is something that we’ve been asking every fiscal year and been advocating for to secure a hearing officer.”

CSC chair Patrick Fitial earlier told lawmakers that commissioners are already being assigned cases and expressed confidence that they could handle employee appeals, including those that could arise from the proposed furlough process.

“And with, like I said, with everything being aligned with the same kind of issues for the grievances of employee appeals, this is something that I’m pretty confident that our commissioners can handle, especially with this new process,” Fitial said.

The commission is also considering sharing a hearing officer with another government entity, but Borja stressed that no arrangement has been finalized.

“We do not have anything established yet. It is in the talking phase,” she said.

Borja said the commission lacks sufficient funding to secure a hearing officer and estimated that such a position could cost approximately $75,000 to $80,000.

The backlog issue takes on added significance as the CSC considers proposed changes to its furlough regulations. Under the proposed process, affected civil service employees would have an opportunity to respond to management’s assessment and could ultimately file a grievance with the commission if dissatisfied with a final decision.

The CSC adopted the proposed furlough amendments around Aug. 6 and was awaiting their translation before beginning the public-comment process. The proposed procedure is intended to establish a separate process for furloughs while providing affected civil service employees an opportunity to respond to management decisions.