The Hawai'i Government Employees Association demanded yesterday that the Lingle administration stop its layoff of 1,100 state workers until there is meaningful consultation with the union over layoff guidelines.

The Lingle administration, meanwhile, chided the union for telling workers not to fill out layoff forms until the consultation is complete.

The exchange of letters shows the deteriorating relationship between the Lingle administration and the state's largest public-sector union as contract talks move toward binding arbitration.

The Lingle administration delivered written layoff notices this week to 1,100 state workers who could lose their jobs in November because of the state's budget deficit.

Nora Nomura, the HGEA's deputy executive director, said in a letter to the administration that the lack of consultation has led to "unequal and inconsistent treatment of employees" and violates collective bargaining rights.

The Lingle administration this week provided seniority information to help determine whether workers have the opportunity to bump junior coworkers and avoid layoff. But Nomura said the "most glaring problem" is the lack of consultation on layoff guidelines. She said there was extensive consultation with the state during the last layoff of state workers in 1995.

Marie Laderta, the director of the state Department of Human Resources Development, wrote to HGEA complaining that the union told workers not to fill out layoff forms that the administration wants finished by Aug. 18.

The HGEA sent an e-mail bulletin to workers informing them that without proper consultation, the administration could be violating rights in the existing contract.

Laderta said workers who ignore the deadline "do so at their peril." The layoff forms help the state determine whether workers have the seniority eligible for department- and jurisdiction-wide job searches.

Lingle, traveling to the Mainland yesterday, issued her own statement last night. "I hope our employees adhere to the deadline we have set, because the possible consequences to them of ignoring the deadline could be the loss of any ability to bump into a different position," she said.

The governor also said she was disappointed the HGEA and the United Public Workers have not responded to the administration's last informal contract offer two weeks ago. "Unfortunately, the state's deteriorating budget situation is getting worse, not better, and the amount the state can afford to pay in labor costs continues to decline," the governor said. "The unions' failure to accept or recognize this is, in my opinion, not in their members' best interests."

The state and the unions have or are preparing to submit final offers for arbitration. Settlements can also be reached at any time outside of the arbitration process.