The following is news from the seaport authority:
The Guam Civil Service Commission unanimously ruled today that the Port Authority of Guam was in compliance with all rules and laws when they hired employees who had criminal convictions.
The ruling came this morning after the CSC Board of Commissioners voted 5 to 0 to adopt the Post Audit Staff Investigation Report affirming the following:
That the Port Authority of Guam (PAG) followed their Personnel Rules and Regulations in their hiring practices and procedures pursuant to Prohibition: Convicted Felons and Prohibition for Sex Offenders;
That the PAG’s hiring practices for employees who disclosed a criminal conviction on their Suitability Determination (SD) form that were hired in Fiscal Years 2017 through February 2021 is pursuant to applicable rules, regulations, and law; and
Considering that the information obtained for this Post-Audit was extracted from PAG’s employee personnel files, which is confidential, no names shall be disclosed, considering there were no actual violations of 4GCA §4203.1 and 4GCA §4203.3.
The CSC Post Audit was the result of a complaint filed by Senator Telena C. Nelson on January 28, 2021, requesting the CSC’s Board of Directors “to conduct a Post Audit into the hiring practices utilized by the PAG and to confirm whether these practices are in accordance with the laws of Guam and the rules and regulations of the Government of Guam. Specifically, to conduct a Post-Audit of employees with any criminal conviction hired by the PAG in Fiscal Years (FY) 2017 through February 16, 2021, and any document or recorded information from the Port Authority relative to the justification of hiring employees with any criminal history.”
PAG General Manager Rory J. Respicio maintained that these allegations are baseless, and cooperated fully with the CSC. At the recommendation of former General Manager and current Senator Joanne Brown that this Post Audit go all that way back to 2010 also to cover the hiring practices of former General Manager and current Senator Mary Torres, Respicio willingly submitted to the CSC and the legislature every single employee who was hired at the PAG from FY2010 to present and welcomed the additional scrutiny.
"We would like to thank the Civil Service Commission for their Post Audit findings which revealed that the Port Authority of Guam did not violate any rule or statute relative to a complaint filed by Sen. Telena Nelson. The Port is moving in a better and clearer direction under the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Board’s leadership. All the time and resources at the behest of our legislative oversight chair and others have been an unfortunate experience for us at the Port. We hope that this ruling provides Sen. Nelson with a renewed commitment to support our Port employees, especially during this pandemic where we have witnessed their value in keeping the supply chain flowing into our island and our region,” said Respicio.
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