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Terms Used In 4 Guam Code Ann. § 4403

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
The Commission has the following duties, powers and responsibilities:

(a) It shall investigate conditions of government employment as it deems necessary and report its findings and recommendations to I Maga’lahi (the Governor) and I Liheslatura (Legislature) annually, and also post such reports on the Commission’s website;

(b) It shall hear appeals from the adverse actions taken to suspend, demote or dismiss an employee from the classified service if such right of appeal to the Commission is established in the personnel rules governing the employee; however, it may not hear any appeal of an action taken to suspend, demote or dismiss an employee of the government of Guam who has not been hired through the competitive hiring procedures of the personnel rules of the government of Guam, as such personnel rules required at the time of the hiring of the employee, nor any unclassified employee;

(c) To hear appeals of furloughs, lay-offs, grievance complaints, and Equal Employment Opportunity complaints of an employee from the classified service if such right of appeal to the Commission is established in the personnel rules governing the employee. The Commission shall adopt rules and procedures for furlough appeals, lay-off appeals, grievance complaint appeals, and Equal Employment Opportunity complaint appeals;

(d) The Commission may investigate and set aside and declare null and void any personnel action of an employee in the classified service if the Commission finds after conducting the necessary investigation that the personnel action was taken in violation of personnel laws or rules; provided, however, that this Section shall not be deemed to permit appeals by employees from adverse actions not covered in Subsection (b) above.

(1) The agency head shall cooperate and assist with the Commission’s investigation.

(2) Prior to declaring any personnel action null and void, the Commission shall provide written notice of the alleged violation to the agency head.

(A) The agency head shall respond within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the notice to the Commission’s proposed action.

(B) All actions taken by the Commission pursuant to this Section shall be taken within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days after the personnel action or complaint is filed with the Commission.

(C) The Civil Service Commission shall submit a copy of its final decision to I Liheslatura by the next working day.

(3) The Commission shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate this Section, including the requirement of a written complaint to initiate any investigation.

(4) The Commission’s decision shall be final but subject to judicial review;

(e) It shall conduct reviews of notices of personnel actions of employees from the classified service.

(1) All notices of personnel actions regarding the classified service shall be filed with the Commission within twenty (20) calendar days after their effective date.

(2) Failure to submit the required notices of personnel actions within ten (10) calendar days after written request by the Commission will immediately result in a ten percent (10%) salary reduction of the agency head and his deputy until compliance is made.

(3) The Civil Service Commission shall submit a copy of its written request to the agency head and his deputy for compliance with this Section to I Liheslatura by the next working day;

(f) The jurisdiction of the Commission shall also apply to the adverse action appeals of certified, technical, and professional personnel of the Guam Power Authority and the
Guam Waterworks Authority; the jurisdiction of the Commission shall apply to all classified personnel of the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority and the Guam Solid Waste Authority;

(g) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the Judiciary of Guam or I Liheslaturan Guåhan (the Guam Legislature) in compliance with the doctrine of Separation of Powers, unless such separate Branch opts to make them applicable by submitting to the jurisdiction of the Commission; and all reference to classified employees will be deemed to mean classified employees of the Executive Branch, including agencies and authorities;

(h) The jurisdiction of the Commission shall not extend to academic personnel of the Guam Community College and the University of Guam, except upon mutual consent by the governing board of the respective institution and the Commission; nor to any position or person, appeal or proceeding of whatever kind or description if the position is denominated “”unclassified”” in this Title, except to the extent explicitly permitted in this Section; and

(i) The jurisdiction of the Commission shall extend to investigating Public Employee Protection Act complaints (a.k.a. “”whistle-blower”” complaints) pursuant to Title 4, Guam Code Ann., § 4501 et seq.

SOURCE: § 4172 Guam Code Ann., as reenacted by P.L. 16-023; Subsection (g) repealed by P.L. 16-111; a new subsection (h) added by P.L. 17-005 and relettered to (g), by Compiler. Subsection (h) added by P.L. 23-026:5 (5/95). Relettered from (I) by Compiler to conform with prior lettering. Repealed/reenacted by P.L. 26-121:2. Subsection (h) repealed and reenacted by P.L. 28-068:IV:12 (Sept. 30, 2005); amended by P.L. 28-
113:4 (April 14, 2006). Subsections (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) repealed by P.L. 28-068:IV:31 (Sept. 30, 2005), effective January 1, 2006, pursuant to P.L. 28-068:IV:47. Subsection (d) repealed and reenacted by P.L. 29-
002:VI:27 (May 18, 2007). Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 30-112:2
(Mar. 12, 2010). Subsection (f) amended by P.L. 058:6 (Nov. 1, 2017).

2018 NOTE: Subitem designations added in subsections (d) and (e)
pursuant to 1 Guam Code Ann. § 1606.

COMMENT: The purpose of the amendment by P.L. 23-026:5 was to make sure that academic personnel of GCC and UOG may not be brought under the Civil Service Commission without the consent of the institutionsconcerned. The repeal/reenactment was because the Legislature perceived that the Civil Service Commission had exceed its jurisdiction. See P.L.
26-121:1.