Andrei Soto Manager of the Year for DLIR 2011

   This afternoon the Department presented the Incentive and Service Awards Ceremony.  Among the nominees Wage Standards was represented in three categories.  Our Employee of the Year nominee was Lori Hamada in Hilo. Lori is a Labor Law Enforcement Specialist and dedicated professional who has lived the WSD motto of service with Aloha for many years.  If everyone had Lori's skill with people and relationships, we wouldn't have any problems to solve. This quiet and effective investigator has accomplished so much. This year Employee of the Year went to Disability Compensation Division's Cindy Terao. 

The Wage Rate Schedule Team- (Lto R)Russell Horikawa, Mari Imamura, Myra Oshiro, Ellie Yoshida (missing Wes Lum).

    Wage Standards also had a nominee in the Team Award Category.  The Wage Rate Schedule Team, Myra Oshiro and Ellie Yoshida of Research and Statistics and Russell Horikawa, Mari Imamura and Wes Lum of the Wage Standards Division.  This team issued not one, not two, but three supplemental addenda to the Wage Rate Schedule that normally comes out just twice a year.  In this time of economic challenges their effort made a significant contribution to both contractors' and agencies' bottom lines.  This year the Team Award went to Workforce Development Division's Youth Summer Employment Team.

    Last, but not least the nominee and winner for Manager of the Year is Wage Standard's very own Andrei Soto, Hearings Branch Chief.  Andrei will represent DLIR on October 14 at the State Capitol when the State Manager of the Year is awarded.  The perpetual plaque presented to Andrei below revealed this is not the first time Wage Standard personnel has won the award.  In 2005, Carole Hara was DLIR Manager of the Year.

Deputy Director Audrey Hidano, Manger of the Year Andrei Soto, and Director Dwight Takamine

     We are very proud of all the nominees and to everyone at DLIR who works so tirelessly to serve the public.  Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!  Your presence makes the DLIR a great place to work.

Recent Press Release

Yesterday, the USDOL issued a press release about developments in the cooperation between certain state and federal agencies concerning the identification of employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors rather than employees. See PBN article http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2011/09/hawaii-working-with-labor-department.html. Yes, Director Takamine signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US DOL Regional Director of the Wage and Hour Division, George Friday, in August that formalized an ongoing relationship between the Hawaii District Office, Wage and Hour Division of the US DOL and the Hawaii Wage Standards Division of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Our offices have collaborated on several projects in the recent past. Last year both offices joined the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture and went to all neighbor islands discussing the special wage laws about agriculture. The two offices regularly work together on enforcing child labor laws and have made joint presentations on the Family Medical Leave Act and the Hawaii Family Leave Law, and Davis Bacon Act and Hawaii's prevailing wage law, Chapter 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Wage Rate Schedule to be released Friday.

    The Wage Rate Schedule #476 effective September 19, 2011 will be available to the public on the Department's website on Friday, September 16, 2011.  It is always important for contractors to check the classifications of laborers and mechanics they employ to make sure current rates are being paid.  This is a major difference between State and county public works and federal public works.  On State and county public works projects contractors are required to pay the most current rate regardless of the date when the project was awarded.  This differs with federal public works projects where only one wage rate schedule is issued for the duration of the project.
    Wage Rate Schedule #476 will not have a separate classification of Fence Erector (chain-link).  Hawaii law (see Section 104-2(a)(2), Hawaii Revised Statutes) states that Hawaii rates can not be less than the federal rate for the same classifications.  The federal wage rate schedule has removed the classification and Fence Erector (chain-link) is being removed from the State list as well.  Work that was formerly classified as Fence Erector (chain-link) will now be considered Laborer II work.