Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — After Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga last week rolled back salary increases, conversions and reclassifications that did not follow personnel regulations, the House of Representatives is calling on the new Administration to reconsider their decision.

Rep. Vailoata E. AmItuana’i raised his concern in the House Chamber last week requesting the chair of the House Government Operations Committee to carefully look into this matter.

The faipule is reacting to a memo the governor issued, titled “Correction of Personnel Actions” — to cabinet members, who were informed that the actions taken are “to contain costs” and these actions became effective Feb. 6th. (Read elsewhere in today’s paper for details of the memo issued on Feb. 5th.)

As one of the long serving lawmakers in the House, Vailoata said that the governor’s roll back can affect pay and position adjustments from as early as 2019 and 2020. He said that the Fono passed the budgets funding salaries for all the ASG employees working those years.

He told the House Speaker, Savali Talavou Ale that the Fono has the authority to look into this issue. He requested a hearing with government officials to discuss the matter, or it could be left up to Fono leaders to set up a meeting with the Governor to discuss this issue.

“When I heard about the governor’s decision for the roll back, I asked a question as to why the Administration wanted to tackle this issue?” Vailoata said, adding that he wants to know if this is has something to do with the government’s financial problems or not.

Several faipule supported Vailoata’s submission and requested a committee hearing to discuss the matter, with some thinking that ASG needs to consider this matter carefully and rethink the decision.

A source from the Administration told Samoa News that several employees who are at the center of this matter received letters of termination last week and some of them showed up at the Governor’s Office the next morning wanting to meet with the governor to discuss their situations.

Lemanu issued a memo last week, saying that the roll back would be implemented to contain costs accrued through personnel actions.

The memo stated that all pay adjustments for career service employees granted since Jan. 1, 2019 that increased an employee’s rate of pay to an amount that was not budgeted by law for that employee’s position — are invalid.

It noted that employees who received such invalid raises shall have their pay reset to the amounts before their invalid pay adjustments were granted plus any amounts they were due pursuant to law.

The governor further said in the memo that pay adjustments of career service employees made without justification violates the principle of equitable treatment of pay as expressed in the American Samoa Code Annotated § 7.0201.

On conversions, Governor Lemanu stated that conversions from contract to career service that were made without opening the position to applicants through the competitive merit system since January 1, 2019 were hereby declared void and null. All such employees would be returned to their contract status.

Lemanu also issued a “Termination of Probationary Employee” Memo to all Directors citing the statute as the basis for his decision.

Pursuant to A.S.C.A. § 7.0211(c) and A.S.A.C. § 4.0803, Lemanu said “I have determined that the continued employment of the below listed employee in the position that the employee is currently in, is inconsistent with the best interests of the government at this time.

The governor goes on to state that the position is budgeted as a contract position, and conversion of the position into career service at this time is not feasible.

“I am requesting termination for this employee, currently serving his probationary period, pursuant to A.S.C.A § 7..0211 (c) and A.S.A.C. § 4.0803.”