ATG NEWS RELEASE: Parties dismiss lawsuit in advance of transition of Maui Hospitals to Kaiser
Posted on Jun 20, 2017 in Latest Department News
HONOLULU – Yesterday, June 19, 2017, the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), the State of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) jointly agreed to dismiss a lawsuit regarding benefits for employees at the Maui Region HHSC hospitals.
This lawsuit was filed in August 2016 to block implementation of a new law that provided a choice of either a severance payment or a special retirement benefit for state hospital workers affected by the transfer of the Maui Region HHSC hospitals to Kaiser. The lawsuit was filed because the 2016 law threatened the tax-exempt status of the ERS’ retirement fund. In September 2016, the parties agreed to delay both the court proceedings and the implementation of the law until an IRS opinion could be issued. In March 2017, the IRS issued a letter on the matter, and the law in question was repealed by Act 18, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017. Consequently, the parties agreed to dismiss the case.
“With the end of this lawsuit, there are no further cases related to the transition of the three Maui county hospitals from public to private management and control,” Attorney General Doug Chin said.
The transfer of the three hospitals (Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital) is scheduled to occur on July 1, 2017.
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For more information, contact:
Joshua A. Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
(808) 586-1284
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ATGHIgov
Joshua Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
Department of the Attorney General
425 Queen Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (808) 586-1284
Twitter: @ATGHIgov
Fax: (808) 586-1239