No. 25-488

Valerie Asato v. Hawaii Government Employees Association, et al.

Lower Court: Hawaii
Docketed: 2025-10-20
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: constitutional-search duty-of-fair-representation employee-rights fourth-amendment grievance-process labor-law
Latest Conference: 2026-01-09
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Whether the Hawaii Government Employees
Association ("HGEA") breached its duty of fair
representation under federal and state labor law by
engaging in arbitrary, discriminatory, retaliatory, and
bad-faith conduct during the grievance and arbitration
process, including hostile actions against Petitioner
for filing a prior prohibited practice complaint.

2. Whether the State of Hawaii Department of
Education ("DOE") violated the Fourth Amendment
to the United States Constitution and Article I,
Section 7 of the Hawaii Constitution by relying on
evidence obtained through an unconstitutional and
unauthorized search of Petitioner's work computer
to justify her termination.

3. Whether the Hawaii Labor Relations Board, the
Circuit Court of the First Circuit, and the Intermediate
Court of Appeals erred in dismissing Petitioner's
claims without addressing the constitutional violations
and procedural errors central to this case, as required
by Haw. Rev. Stat. § 91-14(g)(1).

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Hawaii Government Employees Association breached its duty of fair representation and whether the Department of Education violated constitutional search protections in terminating an employee

Docket Entries

2026-01-12
Petition DENIED.
2025-12-03
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
2025-11-17
Waiver of right of respondent Hawaii Government Employees Association to respond filed.
2025-10-31
Waiver of right of respondent Department of Education, State of Hawaii to respond filed.
2025-10-16
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 19, 2025)

Attorneys

Department of Education, State of Hawaii
Jonathan K. D. TungpalanState of Hawaii, Dept. of the Atty. General, Respondent
Hawaii Government Employees Association
Keani S. AlapaAlapa & Otake, LLLC, Respondent
Valerie Asato
Shawn Anthony LuizShawn A. Luiz, Attorney at Law, Petitioner