‘NMC workers subject to civil service’

The Superior Court has ruled that Northern Marianas College employees are subject to the civil service system and the Civil Service Commission’s rules governing NMC personnel.

In his order favoring CSC and terminated NMC employee Jack Angello, Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama said that, in the absence of any indication within the CNMI Code that NMC is exempt from the Civil Service Act, he cannot remove NMC employees from the civil service system.

“While the court finds that NMC does have authority over the hiring, firing, compensation, and classification of its employees, this authority does not take away an employee’s right to appeal to CSC in accordance with the Civil Service Act,” said Lizama.

Angello was an NMC employee until Sept. 24, 2002 when he was notified of his immediate termination.

Angello appealed his termination to the NMC Employment Appeals Committee. The committee upheld NMC’s decision to fire him.

Angello then appealed the committee’s decision to the CSC, arguing that NMC’s decision to fire him without cause violated the provisions of the Personnel Service System Rules and Regulations. NMC responded by filing a motion with the CSC to dismiss Angello’s appeal, arguing that CSC has no jurisdiction over NMC’s employment decisions. CSC, however, denied NMC’s motion to dismiss, noting that “there is no provision in the law which exempts the employees of the NMC from the civil service system.” CSC ruled that NMC employees are subject to the civil service system.

NMC appealed the CSC’s decision to the Superior Court. In response, CSC filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming NMC lacked standing to appeal CSC’s decision.

Lizama granted the CSC’s motion, but he did not adjudicate the merits of the termination, nor did he address the issue of whether CSC has any jurisdiction over an NMC employee.

NMC, through counsel Jesus C. Borja, appealed to the High Court.

The issue presented before the high tribunal was whether, and under what circumstances, an agency has standing to seek judicial review of an administrative proceeding.

In March 2006, the CNMI Supreme Court ruled that NMC was entitled to initiate a judicial review of the CSC decision to retain Angello.

In reversing Lizama’s order, the justices said the statute does not preclude NMC from seeking judicial review.

The case was remanded to the Superior Court to resolve the original dispute between CSC and NMC, whether the college’s employees are subject to the civil service system.

In his order, Lizama said that under the plain language of the Civil Service Act, there is no exemption for NMC employees from the civil service system.

Lizama noted that, although the Legislature has exempted several agencies through other laws, nowhere in the CNMI Code is there any specific exemption for NMC employees.

The judge agreed with NMC’s argument that specific aspects of the Constitution and the Code mandating NMC’s autonomy should trump the more general laws dictating CSC’s authority.

For this reason, Lizama said, he finds the statute’s grant of authority to the NMC board trumps CSC’s authority in the areas addressed by that law.

“In other words, NMC has complete autonomy over its business policies and over the hiring, firing, compensation, and classification of its employees,” he pointed out.

The Legislature, he said, has never indicated that NMC’s grant of autonomy alters the applicability of the Civil Service Act.

“The court cannot make this leap. It is up to the Legislature to specifically remove NMC from the civil service system if it chooses to do so,” Lizama said.

Until then, the judge added, CSC retains authority over those powers not specifically granted to the NMC board, including the appeals process.