Memorandum of Understanding on Letters of Hire/Offer Letters

Sep 17, 2026

Memorandum of Understanding clarifies how bargainable items within letters of hire/offer letters are treated under the Unit 7 grievance procedure. It defines “letters of hire” as written initial terms and conditions of employment for Unit 7 hiring, sets retention and reporting timelines, and requires letters to include all offered and accepted terms while preventing undocumented promises. It also addresses non-conflict with the Unit 7 collective bargaining agreement, template development, multi-document letters with referenced addenda, and the handling of grieved letters through arbitral authority.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose

Parties and Definitions

Key Provisions

Written documentation and enforceability

Preservation, retention, and notice

Contents, non-conflict, and templates

Grievance and arbitral authority

# MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON LETTERS OF HIRE/OFFER LETTERS This memorandum of understanding is made and entered this24day of 24Jan.2017 byand between the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (Union or UHPA)and theBoard of Regents of the University of Hawaii,State of Hawaii(Employer or University). Purpose: The purpose of this memorandum of understanding is to clarify thatbargainable items contained in letters of hire are subject to the grievance procedure.This memorandum of understanding is not meant to expand the scope of bargaining,isnot meant to make letters of hire in general a bargainable subject,and is not meant tomake all items contained in a letter of hire bargainable or subject to the grievanceprocedure.Items in letters of hire are grievable only to the extent that they arebargainable. The parties agree as follows: 1.No person shall be hired into Unit 7 without written documentation of initialterms and conditions of employment that will take effect upon hire.Suchdocumentation shall be referred to herein as “letters of hire”. 2.The University shall preserve allletters of hire offered to potential Unit 7members,whether they are accepted or not by the candidate,for at leastthree (3)years. 3.Accepted letters of hire shall be retained within the Faculty Member'spersonnel folder.A copy of the accepted letter shall be sent to UHPAwithin twenty (20)working days of receipt from the incoming FacultyMember. 4.Letters of hire shallcontain all terms and conditions of employment offeredto and accepted by the incoming unit member.No undocumented promiseshall be enforceable.The University agrees that bargainable items in theletter of hire may be enforced through the grievance procedure contained inthe Unit 7 collective bargaining agreement. 5.Letters of hire and the terms contained therein may not conflict with ormodify the Unit 7 collective bargaining agreement,unless UHPA agrees inwriting to such a modification. 6.Letters of hire may be composed of more than one document,provided thatthe document bearing signatures shall reference all addenda,exhibits,specifications,diagrams,or correspondence containing the terms of hire;and each such item is attached. 7.The University,in its discretion,shall review and revise its policies andprocedures on letters of hire to ensure that they are properly vetted by theappropriate authorities and that any and all commitments made therein canbe honored.University shall consult with UHPA on the policies andprocedures. 8.The University shall develop templates for letters of hire.University shallconsult with UHPA in the development of such templates. 9.Letters of hire accepted by a new bargaining unit member shall establishthe initial terms and conditions of employment for the new unit membereffective as of the date of hire. 10.Letters of hire that are grieved by UHPA and that violate the collectivebargaining agreement are subject to full arbitral authority to reject andcancel,or recast,the same,as may be just under the circumstances. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAll ovic DAVID LASSNERPresidentUniversity of Hawai'i UNIVERSITY OF HAWAllPROFESSIONAL ASSEMBLY huspol KRISTEEN HANSELMANExecutive DirectorUniversity of Hawai'iProfessional Assembly

FAQs

What is the purpose of this memorandum regarding letters of hire?

It clarifies that only bargainable items contained in letters of hire are subject to the grievance procedure, and that the memorandum is not intended to expand bargaining scope beyond what is bargainable and grievable.

What documentation is required before hiring into Unit 7?

No person may be hired into Unit 7 without written documentation of initial terms and conditions of employment that take effect upon hire, referred to as “letters of hire”.

How are accepted letters of hire handled and communicated to UHPA?

Accepted letters of hire are retained in the Faculty Member’s personnel folder, and a copy of the accepted letter is sent to UHPA within twenty (20) working days of receipt from the incoming Faculty Member.

Sep 17, 2026

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