Editorials
Tuesday, July 29, 1997JUST as it did on privatization of government services, the state Supreme Court has issued a decision correctly applying a bad law and nudged the Legislature to change it. The high court ruled that employees may collect workers compensation for stress caused by disciplinary actions, whether or not the discipline was justified. Lawmakers stubbornly refused to act on privatization but cannot afford to retain the workers comp aberration. Ruling on stress could
stress the economyThe justices ruled that a Big Island 6th-grade teacher could collect workers compensation for her trauma stemming from her principal's ordering a five-day suspension without pay for allegedly striking a student. The court held that the trauma was work-related, even if the teacher improperly inflicted corporal punishment.
The teacher denied that she had engaged in corporal punishment, maintaining that she accidently bumped the student, but the high court said she qualified for workers compensation regardless of whether she had engaged in misconduct.
In its opinion, the Supreme Court said it was "compelled" to uphold employees' right to workers compensation in such cases "unless and until the Hawaii Legislature chooses to amend" the workers comp law. Deputy Attorney General Dorothy Sellers has correctly interpreted that language as an invitation for the Legislature to change the law.
That will not be easy. The problem is that Brian Kanno is co-chairman of the Senate Human Resources Committee and has been an impediment to any measure opposed by labor unions. He refused to move three workers compensation reform bills last year, and refused again in this year's session to hold hearings on changes sought by the business community.
The Hawaii Employers Council warned that the court decision will hamper employers' ability to apply necessary workplace discipline. At a time when Hawaii increasingly is portrayed as hostile to business, this additional burden could add to the state's economic woes.
The Legislature should not hesitate in changing the law to allow discipline in the workplace without companies or government agencies risking being hit with claims of compensation for stress. Allowing a union puppet to block such legislation would lead to real stress for the state's economy.
THE scandal over Switzerland's handling of stolen Nazi gold and bank accounts of Jewish Holocaust victims has deepened again with confirmation by Switzerland's largest bank that documents discovered in its shredder room by a night watchman may have been related to property sold by German Jews under Nazi rule. The Union Bank of Switzerland had previously maintained that the documents salvaged by the guard, Christoph Meili, were unrelated to dormant accounts of Holocaust victims. Shredding documents
It is becoming clear that Swiss collaboration with the Nazis went well beyond the normal obligations of a neutral country. A U.S. government investigation concluded last May that Swiss policies supported Germany's capacity to wage war and helped prolong the war. The disclosures have shaken Switzerland, as well they should. Even after more than half a century, it's not too late to get the truth and a measure of justice for the victims.
LAST September, President Fidel Ramos signed a peace agreement with the leader of Muslim rebels in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Under the agreement, four provinces of Mindanao were grouped as an autonomous region, with the rebel leader, Nur Misuari, and his Moro National Liberation Front in charge. The accord was depicted as the end of 27 years of insurgency. Mindanao rebellion
The non-Christian peoples of the southern Philippines have been resisting the government in Manila for centuries. Ramos thought he had finally brought peace, but the war goes on.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
