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.


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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.