Employers now have
right to jury trialThe ruling applies to cases
before the Civil Rights Commission
The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled that employers can request a jury trial on employment discrimination claims -- but only after claimants have gone through the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission's administrative process.
The high court ruling issued yesterday is a "tremendous victory" and one of the most significant employer/employment- related cases to come out of the Hawaii Supreme Court in years, said attorney Jeffrey Portnoy.
"The goal is to allow a jury to decide the case, rather than an administrative agency that acts as the judge, jury and executioner," Portnoy said.
He represented a burial services company that argued employers should have the same rights to a jury trial as employees.
Currently, employees have the right to opt out of the commission's administrative process, sue their employer and request a jury trial. But if the employee chooses to go through the commission, employers cannot opt out of the process and seek a jury trial.
The decision affirms a July 2001 ruling by Circuit Judge Dan Kochi, who found that the state statute that gives employees the option to have their claims decided by a jury deprives employers of equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional.
Attorney Carl Varady, who represents the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, said yesterday's ruling preserves the jurisdiction of the commission and the administrative process as a valid means of resolving civil rights claims in Hawaii.
The commission had asked the high court to reverse the ruling, arguing that the employers did not have a right to a jury trial when by law discrimination claims are sent to an administrative agency for adjudication.
"In the commission's perspective, I think it's a good result insofar as it states the employer has to complete the commission process and can't opt out before the final determination," Varady said.
The commission was very concerned that the high court would end its ability to carry out its core function as mandated by the Legislature -- which is to adjudicate employment discrimination cases, he said.
The underlying case involved two women who filed sexual discrimination and retaliation claims against their employer, SCI. The women chose to have their claims handled by the commission, which recommended in June 2000 that SCI pay them $400,000 each.
Portnoy said SCI will now go back to the Civil Rights Commission for a hearing, and if it does not like the results, "we'll go to trial."