SAIPAN – As the administration and Legislature work toward a revised budget, and how any austerity measures will hit government employees, the Civil Service Commission has weighed in to warn Governor David M. Apatang that Directive 2026-008, the administration’s austerity plan, conflicts with CNMI and federal law in several areas and could trigger grievances, back pay, penalties, and due-process challenges unless corrected. In an Oct. 10 letter (OUT-2025-003) signed by CSC Chair Raymond M. Muña, the Commission says multiple sections of the directive require legal and procedural changes to comply with statutes, regulations, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The Commission says the directive’s reduction of the 40-hour work week to 35 hours creates a “non-standard work week” without the public notice, comment, Attorney General review, and Commonwealth Register publication required by CNMI law, procedures that must be followed before such changes take effect. CSC also cautions that any terminations, furloughs, or reductions-in-force must follow existing adverse-action rules and be coordinated with the Office of Personnel Management, with legal review before implementation to avoid reinstatement orders and liability.
On pay practices, CSC notes the suspension of within-grade and merit increases must be handled uniformly across government and anchored in formal financial austerity regulations, not just the directive, otherwise uneven application will lead to successful grievances.
The letter states that making legal holidays unpaid conflicts with both statute and regulation (1 CMC § 8153 and NMIAC § 10-20.2-346), which require paid holidays for government employees. Only the Legislature can amend that mandate, the CSC writes, warning of likely retroactive wage liability and attorney’s fees if the unpaid-holiday policy stands.
For law-enforcement scheduling and overtime, CSC says the directive omits an FLSA §7(k) work-period declaration and does not set the required overtime thresholds. The Commission recommends a 14-day work period with overtime after 86 hours for police/corrections and 106 hours for fire/EMS, while preserving exempt status for qualifying administrators to avoid years of back-pay exposure.
While supporting the administration’s fiscal goals, CSC concludes that austerity must operate within the legal framework; otherwise the Commonwealth risks costly litigation and further strain on limited resources. The Commission asks to meet with the Governor to coordinate compliant implementation.
