In 1949, the Territorial Legislature directed the legislative holdover committee (interim committee) to survey the civil service and classification laws of the territory and counties and to recommend necessary changes to those laws. Upon its recommendation, the 1951 Legislature passed new civil service and classification laws which became effective July 1, 1951.
Act 320 Session Laws 1951, "relating to the classification, compensation, recruitment, appointment, employment, efficiency ratings and appeals of public employees ••• ," provided for the establishment of a 7 member Salary Standardization Board. Commissions were sent to Robert G. Dodge, chairman, Harry Y. S. Mau, Frederick Ohrt, H.W.B. White and William Atkinson in July 1951. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Paul J. Thurston, and the Director of the Personnel of the Civil Service Commission, Arthur A. Akina, were made ex-officio members as required by the law. In May 1952, Ellwood Van Giesen was made available to the Board from his civil service position and hired as administrative assistant. In order to carry out its primary duty of surveying the classification of all positions under the Territory and Counties, which included drafting class and pay grade definitions, allocating each position to a class and the final allocation of each class to one of the grades in the 16 step basic General Schedule provided for in Section 114, the Salary Standardization Board asked Governor Long to request the U.S. Civil Service Commission for technical assistance in conducting the reclassification and wage surveys. At the same time, the Board requested
estimates from several private organizations to conduct the surveys. When the U.S. Civil Service Commission turned down the Board's request, a contract was awarded to Research Associates which had submitted a bid of $43,473, Total expenditure during the Board's 2 year existence (July 1951 to June 1953) amounted to over $57,000; several thousand over its legislative allotment of $50,000. This deficit was made up with funds from the Governor's Contingent Fund. Research Associates, under the management of Edward Gallas, sent out questionnaires to government employees and, from these, formulated a classification plan, pay grade recommendations, etc., which were then presented to the Salary Standardization Board for action. In Febrμary 1952, the first group of tentative recommendations were completed by Research Associates. They concerned class positions and specifications which were sent, as were later tentative recommendations, to the Board for distribution to the different departments for written comments, recommendations and protests by both administrators and employees. These comments were then returned to Research Associates for consideration and study; and they in turn reported their findings back to the Board. The Board then met with administrators on Oahu and the outer islands. Closed Board meetings followed, during which recommendations were modified and adopted piecemeal. On August 8, 1952, Research Associates delivered to the Board a list of pay grade recommendations which was transmitted to department heads for review. Administrator and employees raised such a ruckus over it and other points, that Governor Long called a meeting for August 20, to discuss the problems involved in the recommended pay plan. It resulted in a two month long series of 17 meetings between the Board and Territory and County departments during which officials presented views
as to what modifications would be required in the recommendations to assure a workable classification and pay plan. The Board then started work on the allocation
of the different class positions to the basic 16 grades given in Act 320, reviewing and adopting section by section, in view of recommendations received at meetings and through correspondence. On February 5, 1953, the Salary Standardization Board adopted a list of individual position allocations (to pay grades) as prepared by Research Associates
and determined that the survey was completed and set the following day, February 6, 1953, as the date the new classification plan and pay schedule was to take effect.
The Directors of Classification were given the responsibility of maintenance of the plan along with other duties detailed in Act 320. Appeals were to be directed to the Directors of Classification for the respective divisions of government (Territory, County) for review and their recommendations sent to the Salary Standardization Board for appropriate action. Cost figures for the new classification and pay plan were also requested of all departments. Reports were sent to Governor Long and members of the Legislature with Frederick Ohrt and ex officio member, Paul J. Thurston, filing separate minority reports. Attached to the majority report were: the Classification and Pay Plan as Adopted January 22, 1953; Comparison of Monthly Median Wage Rates for Selected Benchmark Classes; Proposed Recommendations Relative to Working Conditions; Efficiency Rating Systems; and a Proposed Plan for Reimbursement for Perquisites. All had been prepared with the assistance of Research Associates. Section 106 of Act 320 not only created the Salary Standardization Board but called for its expiration on June 30, 1953. However, the 1953 Legislature passed Act 278 which repealed Act 320 Session Laws Hawaii 1951. Thus the Salary Standardization Board along with its classification and pay plan was revoked on June 16, 1953, when Governor Samuel Wilder King signed Act 278 into law.
