Black Friday Safety

    Thanksgiving is less than a week away!  It's one of my favorite holidays because it reminds me to look around and realize all that I have to be thankful for.  It truly is a feel good holiday. 
     Thanksgiving also marks the beginning of the Holiday Season and provides shoppers a day to plan their approach on the biggest shopping day of the year -- Black Friday.  For many customers Black Friday shopping is a sport and they line up hours before a store opens to get "the best deal" of the season.  For business this frenzied atmosphere may produce a potential hazard to customers and employees.  The US Dept. of Labor issued a news release including a fact sheet that provides information on the planning, pre-event setup, and handling emergencies in crowd control.  Educating employees about potential threats will keep the situation as it is meant to be -- a fun, fruitful day both for the customers and employers.

 
  Happy Thanksgiving! Have a safe holiday season!

Millenial Quiz

It's been a while since my last posting because I've been having technical difficulties with my computer.  For this short Friday post I wanted to share a link to a quiz that relates to one of the biggest struggles of the workplace:  fitting together all the different generations and making all that work for the "team".  This quiz from Pew Research measures how your actions and acitivites correlate with the milleniums.  It's a new perspective on the issue!  Could it be me????? Gasp!  Have a great weekend!  http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/intro.php

Upcoming Events

Sep 13 (Thu) – Government Contracting 101: The HI-PTAC (Hawaii Procurement Technical Assistance Center) is sponsoring this free workshop on doing business with the government. The goal of the workshop is to teach attendees how the government buys goods and services; how to become certified and registered on the federal, state and local levels and finding government contracting prime and subcontracting opportunities. The workshop will be held at ING Direct (1958 Kalakaua Ave)  For more info: see http://hiptac.ecenterdirect.com/Conferences.action
Sept. 18 (Tues) Job Fair  JobQuest is holding a Job Fair at the Neil Blaisdell Center.  Entrance fees are $3 General, $1 Students; Seniors; and Military.  Job seekers can pre-register at successhi.com.  Exhibitor information details at 536-7222.  For more information visit Job Quest/Workforce Facebook Page

Labor Day

       Every Labor Day the  Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (Department)  is reminded of its purposes under the law to ". . .administer programs designed to increase the economic security, physical and economic well-being, and productivity of workers, and to achieve good labor-management relations, . . " (Section 26-20, Hawaii Revised Statutes). While this requirement in the law provides direction, it is the compassion and energy of the individuals who work in all the programs throughout the State that make the execution of these goals possible.  Like every business in Hawaii and across the United States it is the laborers, the employees, the workers, who make the business succeed, and the Department  is no exception.
     Many of the Department individuals are dedicated State employees with decades of experience and expertise.  This year the Department recognizes three employees with 40 years of service.  Edwina Luke    in the Administrative Services Office, Carol Kanayama with Workforce Development Division, and Nora Ebata with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.  All three women are valuable assets to the Department.  Other dedicated employees will be recognized for 30, 20 and 10 year anniversaries of their State employment. 
    No matter how long someone has worked for an employer each person's contribution to the business is notable and that is an important element of the Labor Day holiday.   I hope other employers around the State will pause this Labor Day and recognize the value each one of their employees brings to their business and remember to say "Mahalo."  Happy Labor Day 2012!

Proposed Rules Public Hearing Sept. 18

      Notice of the public hearing on Sept. 18 for proposed rules for Boilers and Pressure Vessels appeared in the Star Advertiser yesterday, August 15.  A copy of the proposed rules and the legal notice summarizing the changes have been posted on the DLIR website.  To view them click here. 

      These proposed rules have already been reviewed by the Small Business Regulatory Review Board who supported the need to update the safety standards of this type of equipment. See SBRRB Minutes of June 20 Meeting, Item IV A. 

Free Workshops Developing Language Access!

August is Language Access Month in Hawaii.  This August, The Office of Language Access, ((OLA) will sponsor its 5th Annual Hawaii Conference on Language Access. It is a two day conference on "Translation: Maximizing Quality and Minimizing Costs" and will take place August 22-23, 2012 at the East-West Center at UH Manoa.

The registration deadline has been extended to Wednesday, August 15, 2012.The conference is free but you must register.   This is also a great opportunity for businesses with Language Access Services and Products to reach customers.  See the registration form for how to be an exhibitor! Exhbitors space will be available from 8 to 4:30 each day with several breaks throught out the day for attendees.   The Agenda for the two days is full of great programs and speakers.  Continental breakfast and lunch is included. The second day has two tracks of programs to select from. Selected programs scheduled are listed below.   

 

 

WEDNESDAY, AUG 22 

• Keynote – Federal Guidelines on the Translation of Vital Documents, Deeana Jang, Chief, Coordination and Compliance Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Keynote – Implementation of Federal Guidelines Among DHHS Recipients in Region IX, Michael Leoz, Regional Manager, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services, Region IX, San Francisco 
• Translation of Vital Documents in Hawai`i 
•  Luncheon Speaker – Hawaiian as an Official Language: Issues and Challenges, Dr. Kerry Laiana Wong, UH Hawaiian Studies (bento lunches provided)
• Translation of Vital Documents: The NYC DOE Experience – Kleber Palma, New York City - Department of Education, Translation and Interpretation Unit
• Translation of Vital Documents: The Washington State DSHS Experience – Jason Reed, LEP Program Manager, Economic Services Administration, Department of Social and Human Services, State of Washington
•  The Basics of Translation 
•  Panel: Language Issues in Translation -

Optional: Pau Hana Gathering, no host dinner, for those interested at Ryan’s Grill at Ward Centre, 1200 Ala Moana Boulevard.

 THURSDAY, AUG. 23

 

 Breakout 1                                          Breakout 2
 Ethics for professional Translators         Identifying Vital Documents and Languages for Translation
Careers in Translation                            The Use of Plain English
Internet Resources for Translators          Contracting and the Cost of Translation
Certification of Translators                      Funding Resources for Translation
Translation Techniques                           Tracking and Managing the Translation
Running a Translation Business               Translator's Top 10 Pet Peeves

FINAL PLENARY SESSION :Ensuring Accuracy in Translation.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Updates: Prevailing Wage Surveys and Proposed Rules

   Proposed Rules:  Work continues on revising and proposing elevator and boiler rules.  Proposed amendments to the Boiler and Pressure Vessel rules Chapters 12-220 to 12-225, Hawaii Administrative Rules, passed the Small Business Regulatory Review Board at the June 20 meeting and next step of getting the governor's approval and publishing the notice of public heaing is in process.   Proposed changes to the Elevator rules continue to be developed.  The focus of the changes continues to be bringing the rules up to current national industry standards and providing a safe environment for the public.

   Prevailing Wage Surveys:  Due  August 3. This Friday is the deadline for submitting any information on the Prevailing Wage Survey being conducted by the Reasearch and Statistics Office.  The prevailing wage survey reaches out to contractors who conduct the following work:  Chlorinator, Drapery Installer, Fence Erector (Chain Link), Concrete Mixer Driver/Booster Driver, Termite Treater and Water Well Driller.  The surveys are important to the State as they determine the prevailng wage on the wage rate schedule for the next year in those classifications of jobs for all State and county construction work under Hawaii's "little Davis-Bacon", Chapter 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Contractors should have received their survey forms last month.  If contractors believe they should be participating and want to be included in the survey, they can contact the Research and Statistics office at by email at dlir.rs.wrs@hawaii.gov or call (808) 586-9019, for information on how to participate.

Winning Videos Announced

The US DOL had a Campaign for Disability Employment and announced  the video contest winners of 'What can YOU do?'  They have asked for the public to vote before June 8 for the runner up videos.
See the winning videos here.
To see the other videos  and vote click here.

The gist of the message is people with disabilities are great employees.
Focus on their abilities, what they CAN do and find a valuable asset to your company.


Part of the press release is reproduced below.

WASHINGTON — The Campaign for Disability Employment, a collaborative of leading disability and business organizations funded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, has selected the winning videos in the 2012 "What can YOU do?" video contest. This nationwide contest challenged filmmakers to produce disability employment awareness videos that reflect the diversity of skills people with disabilities offer, challenge common misconceptions about disability employment and reinforce the CDE's core message that, at work, it's what people CAN do that matters.

The 2012 "What can YOU do?" video contest winners were selected in three categories: employer, youth and general public. Judging was based on originality, content, reflection of campaign themes and categories, production value, impact and accessibility. Winning videos now will be used in support of the campaign's national effort to increase the employment of people with disabilities.  To see the whole press release click here.

And the winner is . . .

The current trend in technology is creating "apps" -- even the government is doing it.  Earlier in the year I pointed to some challenges the USDOL was making to developers to find interesting ways to use the data that is available on their website.  (See February 2, 2012 post)  The Equal Pay App Challenge winners have been announced. 

Unfortunately, I have yet to get a mobile device that will support its use, so have not been able to play, but for those who do have an iPhone or iPad you might have some fun with the Gender Gap Game, especially if you're a male.  The game asks the player to guess at whether a particular salary amount for a particular job is a male salary average or a female average.  I challenge you to play the game until you find one where the female salary is higher.  This is why it may be somewhat frustrating for women.  The intent however is education, so that women will be stronger negotiators and understand the worth of their position.

The good news is that Hawaii, is actually above average in this area.  Where the national average has women earning 77 cents to every dollar a male earns, wahine in Hawaii are earning 80 cents to that dollar. Great news would be that we earn the same amount for the same job.  An interesting fact sheet on this material was produced last month as part of equal pay day April 17 and can be found here. 

But you're reading this to learn the winning app, so here is a link to the app walk through video that shows how to play.  Find it at GenderGapApp.com  For the contest runners up see http://equalpay.challenge.gov/.  Can't wait to hear what you think.

OES Arriving Soon in Your Mailbox!

     The Occupational Employment Survey (OES) will be mailed out soon from the DLIR Research and Statistics Office.  I urge you to take a moment and fill it out and return it as soon as possible.  The information gathered is confidential.  Everyone's participation is important.

       The Occupational Employment Survey is directed to employers in order to gather the data.  It is a national project funded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is useful data for both employers and employees. 

     Just the other day a friend was finally offered a job (Yeah!) after being unemployed for a whole year.  She was at the stage of negotiating the details of her new job, including salary and asked me what she could expect to be paid. I had no idea because she is an art director and I am an administrator, so I sent her to the Research and Statistics HIWI website, specifically, the Occupational Employment Survey. (See the Jan 30 post on this blog)


     When my friend found the salary range for her particular job title, she recognized that she was likely going to take a cut in pay from her last job in another state. Having this information was helpful for both parties.  It gave realistic goals for my friend that she could work with and helped her employer by remaining competitive for good employees.

     The data, like all data, is only as good as its source.  Data from the DLIR can be relied on for it's integrity and accuracy because their mission is to serve Hawaii.  The broader the spectrum of collection, the more accurate the information reported.  DLIR needs employers to respond to the survey that is sent out by the Research and Statistics Office to ensure the best possible sampling.  Employers can expect to find the survey in their mail boxes next week.  Be on the lookout.

National Severe Weather Preparedness Week

We talk about it everyday!  Millions of people come to Hawaii to experience it.  That's our beautiful weather.  Yet, we know that it's not always good every day.  So on this rainy Monday morning, it's a perfect time to take stock of our individual and corporate plans for severe weather.

FEMA would like us to take this week to review our preparedness plans and take a pledge to prepare.  Listen to Craig Fugate's, Administer of FEMA, message, in the video below.  It's always good to be ready.

Hawaii Family Leave Law Update

      An interesting question arose at the Hawaii Employers Council (HEC) Workshop on Family Leave in Hawaii at the end of last month.  The question focused on the calculation of how much paid leave an employee is allowed under the Hawaii Family Leave Law, Chapter 398, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The law says the employee is allowed up to 10 days of accrued and available paid leave of the 4 weeks they are entitled to. (See 398-4, HRS)  It's easy if an employee works a standard 5 day, 8 hour, 40 hour week schedule.  It would be the two week period or 80 hours.

     The question that arose at the HEC, was "what if an employee works three 12-hour days a week, are they allowed 10 days or 120 hours of paid leave?" The quick answer is no, Wage Standards Division interprets the law to allow 6 days of paid leave, in the example asked.

    Our analysis had to look at the intent of the law. The law entitles employees to a total of 4 weeks leave with an option of 10 working days, or two work weeks, or half of the entitlement, for the employee to use paid accrued or available sick leave. If an employee works 3 days a week, the four week period would be twelve days, and half of that is 6 days. So the number of days (6) times the amount of hours worked each day (12) would mean the employee would be allowed 72 hours of paid accrued and available sick leave. If an employee works a variable schedule, to determine how many days are allowed use an average amount of days worked per week, and allow two weeks worth.


     Expressing it as a calculation it would look like: (Normal number of days worked in a week x Normal number of  hours worked in a day) x 2 = # of hours allowed of paid accrued and available sick leave.

   
 Finally, HB 884, 2012 Regular Legislative Session,  that potentially added "Sibling" to the people an employee could be caring for with a serious health condition, did not pass out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, so there is no change to the HFLL.

Free Safety Workshops April 23-24.

    Free saftey workshops with four different sessions over the two day period will include:

Monday, April 23:


I. OSHA’s Focus Four Safety Training / Construction (8am - 12pm)

II. Effective Safety Communication and Your Spanish Speaking Workforce (1pm - 5pm)

and on
Tuesday, April 24:

III. Elevating Work Platform (Scissors Lift) Awareness Safety Training (8am - 12pm)

IV. Safety Program Basics for Today’s Manager, Supervisor & Foreman (1pm - 5pm)

Details and registration can be found at the following link:

http://htdc.org/sites/default/files/HTDC-HIOSH%20Safety%20Trng%20Flyer%20Honolulu_0.pdf

Governor's Pacific Rim Safety and Health Conference

     The Governor's Pacific Rim Safety and Health Conference is just around the corner on April 16-18, 2012, at the Hawaii Convention Center.  The Conference is always an important event that provides insightful world-class discussions of various issues related to safety and health.  The biennial conference happens only in even years so if you don't go this month, it will be 2014 before you'll have access to this kind of expertise right here in own back yard.
     The Conference is co-sponsored by the American Society of Safety Engineers  (ASSE) and to get the details of the almost 90 programs and 100 exhibitors check out the ASSE website at http://www.asse.org/.
      There is guaranteed to be something for everyone in the program arena and all for a reasonable price.  The full conference fee of $475, includes all programs of the conference and lunch and refreshments for the three days.  Four or more attending from the same company and the price is lowered to $400 per attendee.  For those that can't afford to attend the whole conference,  there is free admission to the exhibitors on Tuesday, April 17, from 1p.m. to 4 p.m to tour the products and services offered.  Details can be found at the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division of the DLIR.  See http://hawaii.gov/labor/hiosh/free-admission-to-pac-rim-conference-exhibits.  Hope you will attend and let  me know your comments.

Kuhio Day is Overtime Day

Information about Prince Kuhio can be found here.

Spring is in the air!  Contractors who have public works jobs will be looking to make up for lost time during the heavy rain earlier in the month.  Monday, March 26, is Kuhio Day, a State holiday, which means all DLIR offices will be closed to the public.  It also means that laborers and mechanics working on public works jobs Monday are due overtime pay of time and a half all day, even if they work less than forty hours in the week.

The Hawaii public works law (Wages and Hours of Employees on Public Works,Chapter 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes) requires laborers and mechanics to be paid overtime after 8 hours a day, or for all hours on Saturdays or Sundays or on State Holidays. (Section 104-2(c), HRS).  The rate must be equal to one and a half times the rate as listed on the current prevailing wage rate list for the appropriate job.

Calculating the overtime rate from this list can be confusing because the wage rate is listed in two parts, the basic hourly rate plus the fringe benefit rate.  To calculate the overtime rate of any classification take the basic hourly rate and multiply by 1.5 then add the fringe benefit.  As an example, an electrician who is a Line Installer (outside) is paid the prevailing wage rate of $65.54.  The prevailing wage rate is equal to the basic hourly rate of $40.55 plus the fringe benefit rate of $24.99.  The overtime rate is $85.82.  O.T. is calculated by taking the hourly rate of $40.55 and multiplying it by 1.5 and adding the fringe benefit amount of $24.99.  Note that the overtime rate is not prevailing wage rate times 1.5 or $98.31, nor is it $60.82 which would be 1.5 times the basic hourly without adding the fringe benefit amount.

Some have noticed that certified payroll forms submitted as required by law, often report differing amounts as the hourly prevailing wage rate.  There can be many legitimate reasons why this happens.  Amounts may differ because employers often have different benefit packages. If you have questions about a specific situation you can check our website for more information or call 808-586-8777 to speak to someone.

2011 DLIR Annual Report Available

  The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations recently issued the 2011 Annual Report.  Section 371-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes requires the Department to submit a written report to the Governor at least annually.

This year's report cover has this photo from the 2011 Incentive and  Service Award Ceremony of the nominated individuals for 2011 Employee of the Year and the administrators that nominated them.  From right to left, Clyde Imada, DCD Acting Administrator; Linda Uesato, UI Administrator; En Young, OCS; Bill Hoshijo, HCRC Executive Director;  Kendell Kuhn, HCRC; Jim Nicholson, HLRB Chair; George Smith, HIOSH-Hilo; Audrey Hidano, Deputy Director (in front); Julius Dacanay, HIOSH (in back); Marla Kalamau, HIOSH;  Norman Ahu, ASO Business Manager; Richard Surrell, UI; Casey Cho, ASO (in back);  Cindy Terao, DCD and 2011 DLIR Employee of the Year; Elaine Young, WDD Administrator (in back); Nora Ebata, HLRB;  Joni Heatherly, WDD (in back); Alan Yamamoto, HIOSH; Mel Arai, WDD-Hilo; Jennifer Shishido, HIOSH Administrator; Karen Akamine, LIRAB; Dwight Takamine, Director; Roland Thom, LIRAB Chair.  (Nominees not pictured:  Lori Hamada, WSD-Hilo; and Adele Manera, WDD-Kauai).

It is always difficult to select individuals for these awards as so many dedicated people work in the DLIR and do their jobs with the grace, expertise, and creativity worthy of this reward.  To have this special group of people on the cover reminds us to celebrate the achievements accomplished so we are re-energized to return to our daily routines of "Improving the Lives of Hawaii's Working Families".  The 2011 Annual Report shows how we did that and what's in store for the future.  Comments are always appreciated.

Kona/West Hawaii Agriculture Skill Panel March 6

What are Skill Panels?  They are collaborative groups of people, both private and public-based ,who are interested in figuring out what needs a particular industry has and will have in the future (in this case agriculture).   A complete description of skill panels can be found here. 

Tuesday, March 6 at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., stakeholders will discuss the agriculture industry in Hawaii and develop an action plan.  For more information see the agenda.  To particpate contact stanford.j.fichtman@hawaii.gov.

Talk on Family Leave Issues Set for March 28

The federal Family Leave and Medical Act (FMLA) and the Hawaii Family Leave Law (HFLL) have the similar purpose of providing protected leave to employees if they need to miss work due to caring for a family member with a serious illness.  In the application of the laws, there are differences that are important to understand to balance the employee's rights and the employer's concerns. 

The Hawaii Employers Council (HEC) has asked both the local Wage and Hour Division of USDOL and the Hawaii Wage Standards Divison of DLIR to come speak March 28 on this topic.  The talk is open to both members and nonmembers of HEC.  More information about registering for this talk can be found at Hawaii Employers Council or call Vicky Tasaka-Loando at (808) 440-8822. 

This collaborative effort with the USDOL Wage and Hour Division and Hawaii Wage Standards Division is an expression of the MOA signed last year.  (See Sept 20, post)

Worker Shortages in the Construction Industry.

      Two years ago during the 2010 Legislature Act 68 was passed by overriding Governor Lingle's veto.  The Act requires 80% of workers on public works projects to be residents on construction jobs of  $50,000 or more.  This  procurement law is codified in Chapter 103B, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Most of the concerns in this law are the responsibility of the procurement officers of each department or agency and do not come under the jurisdiction of the DLIR.  The exception to this 80% resident worker rule is if there are worker shortages in Hawaii.  The  responsibility falls on the DLIR to determine if there are worker shortages.  (See 103B-3(b)), HRS last sentence).
     The DLIR does conduct surveys of jobs in Hawaii on a regular basis.  These surveys are called Occupational Employment Surveys (OES).  The DLIR generally measures worker shortages in the Construction Industry for the purposes of Act 68, Regular Session 2010, by taking the percent of the annual average regular claims for unemployment  in the Construction Industry to the number of construction jobs in the Occupational Employment Survey.  If that percentage is less than 6.5% than a shortage of workers exists.  2007 was the last time a shortage existed.  For the current year there continues to be no general shortage of workers so the 80%  resident worker rule applies to all current construction.
      With the general rule in place there are still some specific trades and materials that require specialty contractors with experience that may not be available in the Hawaii workforce.  For those exceptions there is an ability to apply for an exemption from the 80% rule.  The exemption request should be addressed to the Director of Labor, Dwight Takamine and contain the specific information outlined in the Act 68 information sheet.

Apps for Labor

    Yesterday, I read a blog about an equal pay challenge the US DOL announced.  The challenge is to build an innovative tool, or an app as it is more commonly called, that uses  "publicly available labor data and other online resources to educate users about the pay gap and to build tools to promote equal pay."   There are prizes including $5,000 cash and scholarships for training sessions. The app has to accomplish at least one of four goals more specfically outlined on the challenge page.

     The first goal is to "Provide greater access to pay data by gender, race, and ethnicity. . . that would be helpful to women throughout their careers as they negotiate starting pay, request a promotion or a raise, or consider switching fields to a more lucrative career path."  This made me think of the last post I did concerning HIWI.   The DLIR is always collecting data and having a simple way to retrieve it on your phone would be helpful.  If you could use your smart phone to look up the range of salary for a specific kind of position in Hawaii that would be helpful period, to men and women alike.

     The focus of this current challenge is equal pay for equal work.  Other challenges have focused on other topics. There is the Jobs for Heros app that e-mails veterans about job openings in their areas that have similar skill sets as their Military Occupational Speciality. (herojobs.org)


     The DLIR has a timecard app link on the Main DLIR page that was developed by the US DOL. (Look for Timesheet App under "Tools") This is a helpful tool for employees to track their hours and keep records so they know what to expect in their paychecks.  While it still requires the employee to use the app for it work, chances are a person is more likely to have their phone on them, then a pencil and paper to record information. 

    App development may be foreign to me, but so far I haven't met an App I didn't like. This equal pay app contest closes March 30 with a winner to be announced April 15.


...

What’s HIWI?

HIWI is the HAWAII WORKFORCE INFONET and it is the place to get the most up-to-date employment, wage, job, and training information available related to Hawaii so you can make the smartest decisions. It’s information you can use, right now, today to help you decide what to do next. Thinking about a career change? See where the jobs are going to be in the future in the Outlook for Industries and Occupations up to 2018.

Wondering what a competitive salary is for the new employee you are thinking about hiring? Check out the average wage rates in Hawaii.

This data comes from the Research and Statistics Office of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). The Occupational Employment Surveys are federally funded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and carried out by the state workforce agencies, in Hawaii, DLIR Research and Statistics. HIWI publishes the data in a handy retrievable form.

At http://www.hiwi.org/ it’s all about providing tools for employers and job seekers to make informed decisions. Not the kind of tools you need a tool belt for, but the kind of tools your mind needs to decide what next steps to make for a better future, for your better future.

Hawaii Legislature Opens and New Website Unveiled

     The opening of the Hawaii Legislature is always an emotional event.  Despite celebratory events being more low key this year, the anticipation of the dance still tweaks our amygdalas. There are high hopes that our elected officials will find a path that best meets the needs of most of the people in Hawaii.  If it happens, it can be a mutually beneficial event as it woud support re-election for the legislators, which is on the minds of most this election year. 
        Participation in the legislative process has always been difficult for the working person or business as most of the hearings and proceedings happen during the day and tracking the issues has never been easy - - until this year.  If you haven't been to the newly redesigned website, you must see it.  Find it at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/
    There are many innovations that streamline and make it more user friendly.  All you need to do is "register" with your name and e-mail address to set up an account that tracks the bills you are interested in.  Finding the bills is still a bit of a "keyword" challenge, but once identified a new feature allows you to add those bills to a list and generate a  "Report"  that provides the information and status on each measure you are tracking.  You can set up various "Lists" to keep your reports focused on issues or groups.  Notices about committee hearings are still available by e-mail.  Although there is still not a lot of notice before the hearing is announced, there have been innovations in submitting testimony.
     The new website  appears to have an easy way to submit testimony.  Click the "Submit Testimony" button.  The "Submit Testimony" button seems to be everywhere. On the main page and on each measure page.   This innovation should produce more public comment and get a more accurate public perception of the issues. 
      All these new features should make our jobs easier tracking information.  Let's hope these time savers give us more time to listen to each other and build bridges that connect our values and pattern better solutions.  BRAVO Webmaster!
    
  

Job Fair Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Whether you are looking for a job or some employees, mark your calendars for January 18, 2012 for the Job Fair.  Be sure to look for the "Green Zone" where the Hawaii Green Jobs Initiative will be operating.  For more information on how to get involved go to this website: http://www.successhi.com/SuccessHI-2011/Job_Fairs.html

Employers Seeking To Be Green

No, we're not talking about a hook-up with Sesame Street's Kermit the Frog, we're talking about being involved in the DLIR Green Jobs Initiative.  What does "Being Green" mean outside of Kermit's world? The answers are coming to Kauai on  January 25, 2012.  To register for the Green Workforce Development Summit or more information see: http://www.kauaichamber.org/_library/documents/012512_kauaigreenworkforcedevsummittregform.pdf

The issues about defining "green" are included on the Hawaii Green Jobs Initiative Website at Green Job definitions.  This week the DLIR launched an online searchable Green Employers List and the green jobs they offer. 

  The Green Employers Directory   provides information about what these green workerrs do and includes the skills and training needed for these green jobs.  This online searchable database is a product of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  The initial Green Employers Directory was one of the  by-products of a survey conducted in 2010 which can be viewed by clicking here. 

Once an employer is registered they can update the jobs and information in the Directory.  It's a great free resource for both employers and employees who are looking to find forward-thinking members of our community.  There are currently 276 employers listed State-wide, although some firms are listed more than once to represent different locations.  To access the directory, go to https://lmi.ehawaii.gov/green.   Businesses wishing to be added to the directory may contact the DLIR Research and Statistics office at (808)586-9013 or dlir.rs.greenjobshawaii@hawaii.gov.

The DLIR also has green connections that provide money to support On-The-Job training (click on "Employers" to get to On-the-Job training page) of employees through the State Energy Sector Partnership (SESP) led by the Workforce Developmen Council. ("WDC").  All the documents and requirements of the programs offering 50% to 90% reimbursement of training fees are on line to review.  This is the place where the WDC keeps all the new programs and opportunities posted.  You can keep up to date with them on Facebook.  "Like" http://www.facebook.com/sesphawaii#!/sesphawaii

The WDC, or the idea and policy people of DLIR, are currently working on the premier "green" industry of Agriculture. Looking to the community for answers there are public forums set on each island to assess the skills and training needed for current and future workforces. The next one is January 24, 2012 in East Hawaii. The WDC is looking for members of the agriculture community to define the requirements to grow and develop the agriculture industry in their counties, so these forums will be very focused on the needs of the area where they are convened. An example of the agenda from the Oahu can be found on the sesphawaii.com webpage under the NEW! Agriculture Skill Panels Materials (at the bottom of the left hand side grey list of choices.) If you are interested in attending you can contact stanford.j.fichtman@hawaii.gov .

There is a lot of opportunity out there for both employers and employees to catch the "green" wave -- and DLIR has ideas and programs to help!  Let us.  Get in touch with being green.






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