Chief Justice Arthur Ngiraklsong, Associate Justice Lourdes F. Materne and Associate Justice Alexandra F. Foster in an opinion order dated November 3 affirmed the trial court’s denial of former PPUC employee Kyoko April’s free expression claim.
However the Justices reversed the trial court’s ruling of wrongful termination and remanded the matter to the trial division for calculation of damages.
April argued that her termination lacked proper procedure and PPUC violated her right to due process as guaranteed by the Palau Constitution.
April argued that by statute the General Manager of PPUC had sole authority to terminate her employment and that her termination was improper because it came by way of instruction by the Board to the General Manager.
The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division in affirming the trial court’s ruling, said that “Legislation grants the General Manager the power to select, hire and terminate the employees of PPUC except otherwise as provided in this chapter and to plan, organize and control the services of such employees in the exercise of the powers of PPUC under the general direction of the Board and the policies established by the Board.”
The Justices said “those powers are tempered by the requirement that the General Manager act in accordance with the oversight of and policies established by the Board and therefore the Board maintains oversight of employee terminations through the General Manager and April’s termination did not violate these procedures,” the Justices said in their order.
In reversing the wrongful termination claim, the Appellate Division said that April was afforded neither notice of her termination nor an opportunity to be heard. She received a memo requesting her resignation and when she refused she was terminated immediately.
The Justices said April did not receive even a minimal level of process before deprivation of her continued employment and her due process was violated.
“Damages for a due process violation should be calculated only to compensate a plaintiff for the affront of suffering a deprivation of process,” the order stated.
The Appellate Division remanded the matter to the trial division for calculation of damages.
April was hired as clerk in 1996 and worked her way up to the position of Administrative Assistant to the General Manager.
She later promoted to as the Human Resources Manager. On October 13, 2004, she received a memo from then Acting General Manager Rukebai Inabo seeking her resignation and when she refused to resign, she was terminated.
April sued PPUC on March 3, 2006 and the Trial Division on June 12, 2008 ruled in favor of the PPUC. April challenged the decision.
