Governor issues memo to roll back previous personnel actions

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Through a new directive, Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga has ordered the roll-back of pay adjustments made without justification in the budget, stating that such pay adjustments violate local law, as well as converting contract workers to career service employees without going through the merit process.

Lemanu’s new directive was outlined in a Feb. 5th memorandum — titled,  “Correction of Personnel Actions” — to cabinet members, who were informed that the actions taken are “to contain costs” and these actions became effective Feb. 6th.

“These actions will only affect pay going forward. No back pay will be sought,” the governor explained.

The corrective personnel actions cover three categories.

PAY ADJUSTMENT WITHOUT JUSTIFICATION IN BUDGET

According to the governor, all pay increases for career service employees granted since Jan. 1,2019 that increased employees’ rates of pay above the amounts that were budgeted by law for their positions “are invalid”.

“Employees who received such invalid raises shall have their pay reset to the amounts before their invalid pay adjustments were granted plus any amounts they were due pursuant to [the] law,” he explained.

PAY ADJUSTMENTS CLASSIFICATION

Lemanu points out that pay adjustments of career service employees without justification “violates the principles of equitable treatment of employees expressed” in local law — ASCA 7.0201.

Therefore, all pay adjustments issued since Jan. 1, 2019 that were made by means other than reclassification, annual step increase, or special incentive awards as required by Title 7 of the American Samoa Code Annotate — local law — or Title 4 of the American Samoa Administrative Code- the regulations — “are void and will be rescinded”.

CONVERSION TO CAREER STATUS

Lemanu also said that conversions of positions from contract worker to career service employee that were made without opening the position to applicants through the competitive merit system in the American Samoa Administrative Code since Jan. 1, 2019 “are hereby declared void, and all such employees will be returned to their contract status”.

BACKGROUND

Lemanu’s latest directive comes in the heals of a Jan. 8th memorandum, in which the governor ordered a freeze of all pay increases and conversion of positions from contract to career service in the Executive Branch.

“In order to control spending, there will be a freeze of all pay increases and conversions of positions from contract to career service,” the governor wrote to executive branch cabinet members.

“In anticipation of reorganizing government functions,” Lemanu directed the Human Resources Department to prepare a “report of all pay increases and transfers of positions from contract to career service... from Jan. 1, 2019 to present.”

No details are available from the Executive Branch as to how many ASG employees are affected in this new roll-back, of the actions that were put in place by the previous administration.

As previously reported by Samoa News, former Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga instructed his cabinet in May last year to bring new workers on board and instructed executive branch directors to review records of ASG contract workers and to collaborate with Human Resources in order to covert them to career service employees.

Lolo said it’s important that “we protect” government workers to ensure that they have jobs. Lolo reiterated similar calls towards the end of last year, saying that there were workers, who have been working for ASG for some 20-years but are still getting less than $15,000 annually.