A Circuit Court judge has issued a final ruling in a second lawsuit brought by state employee unions that bars Gov. Linda Lingle from unilaterally imposing furloughs on state workers.

Judge Karl K. Sakamoto’s ruling today in a case filed by the Hawaii State Teachers Association and United Public Workers was similar to a decision he submitted yesterday in a lawsuit brought by the Hawaii Government Employees Association.
In both cases, Sakamoto found that neither state law nor the state constitution allow a governor to force state workers to take unpaid days off without negotiating with their representatives.
Lingle and Attorney General Mark Bennett said yesterday the state will appeal the rulings.