Konno v. County of Hawai`i
Hawaii Supreme Court
937 P.2d 397 (1997)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
The county of Hawai`i (the county) (defendant) owned and operated a landfill in Kealakehe. The landfill-worker positions at Kealakehe were civil-service positions. The county wanted a private contractor to construct and operate a new landfill at Pu`uanahulu to replace the Kealakehe landfill. The county entered into a contract with a private company called Waste Management of Hawai`i, Inc. (WMI). Under the terms of the contract, WMI was responsible for the construction and operation of the new landfill. Therefore, the Pu`uanahulu landfill was privatized. The Kealakehe landfill was closed when the Pu`uanahulu landfill opened. The actual work performed by the workers at the Pu`uanahulu landfill was virtually identical to the work performed at the Kealakehe landfill. The United Public Workers (UPW) (plaintiff), a labor union that represented landfill workers, brought suit against the county. The UPW contended that the privatization of the Pu`uanahulu landfill violated the Hawai`i Constitution and civil-service statutes. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of the county. The UPW appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Ramil, J.)
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