Pay workers for travel time to a job?

     Travel time
    The Wage Standards Division is often asked if an employer has to pay their employees for the travel time to a job site.  Sometimes this can add thirty minutes to two paid hours to the work day traveling from the employer's shop to the work place.  Who gets paid for that travel time to the job site depends on why the employees are taking the ride.

     Convenience or need?
     If the employee is required to report to the shop in the morning (e.g., attend a safety meeting, load company vehicle, etc.) and then drives/rides the company vehicle to the job site, the employee’s work day begins at the shop and ends when he/she returns back to the shop.  If the employee is not required to report to the shop and may go directly from home to the job site, but merely stops at the shop for his/her own convenience of catching a ride and no work is performed at the shop, the employee’s work day begins when the employee reaches the job site, and ends when the employee completes his/her work at the job site.

     Public works also.
     The application of the paid travel time for general business enterprises also applies to construction companies working on state and county public works under Chapter 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Art in Public Places

       Today is a great day for me and I thought it was going to be a very sad one.  As part of the Art in Public Places I have lived with a large pastel drawing in my office by Kauai artist Sally French called "Hot Lips".  It is a drawing of a fire breathing monster and makes a statement about the choices we make in love.  It has  been a comforting friend for all the years I have been in this office and a whimsical point of conversation to visitors. 

      Today, was the day the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) removed it from my office to re-locate it to the Capitol in the office of Representative Mark Nakashima.  Representative Nakashima and I share the love for this special work of art.  I have worked side-by-side with Hot Lips in my office since 2005, so I knew giving it up  was the right thing to do, afterall, it is part of the Re-locatable Collection, and it was going to someone who would appreciate it too!

      When I called SFCA to arrange for the move, they were very sympathetic to my sense of loss and promised me an opportunity to find a new treasure.  Everyone knows change is difficult and finding love is, well, not easy.  When the curator came to my office with the stack of "available" pieces  I asked, "Do you have any Eli Baxter?"  The curator ruffled through the stack of sculpture cards and found two pieces I recognized immediately and was so happy to provide a home.  After we sifted through more than two or three dozen cards in the "large" painting category to fill the empty space on my wall. . . I found them.  Instantly,  I knew I was going to have two new friends:  Masami Teraoka's  "Janet" and "Emu Woman".  They were installed this morning and are watching over me now.

    So today, I thought I was going to lose something and instead gained four new points of inspiration!   Change is a funny thing...we dread it and when it gets there, it greets us with a big warm embrace, and we can't remember what we were afraid of.  Oh yeah, and any time I want to visit my old friend "Hot Lips" I can just visit Representative Mark Nakashima in Room 406 at the Capitol.  I love the Art in Public Places program.  Mahalo Hawaii.

   This Friday, March 1, First Friday, you can see the State collection at HISAM, and on April 5, the Capitol will participate in Art at the Capitol.  Go see for yourself! 

Minimum wage

    Similar Ideas
     Just when I thought Hawaii was going to get ahead of the federal minimum wage the President announces in his State of the Union that he wants to raise minimum wage to $9.00 and then tie it to an index that will automatically adjust it, and reminds everyone his competition agrees with him!  This is what he said:

Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on.
        See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/president-barack-obamas-state-union-address-prepared-delivery
 

    If this sounds familiar, on January 22, Governor Abercrombie made a similar statement.

 Many of Hawaii’s residents are the products of plantation-era workers – people who worked and toiled in the fields, earning the bare minimum in order to afford a better opportunity for their families.

Today, there still exists a hard-working sector of our society that deserves continued recognition. These are the working-class residents who earn the minimum wage. The minimum wage, currently at $7.25 per hour, has not increased for over 6 years. Nineteen other states plus the District of Columbia have higher minimum wage rates than Hawaii, with less to confront in terms of cost of living.

Therefore, I will be proposing a bill to increase the minimum wage by $1.50, to $8.75 starting in January 2014. Minimum wage earners provide immediate infusion of dollars into the economy. Everyone is worthy of their labor. Industry and corporations do not lack for support in these halls. Neither should those who work the hardest for the least return.
    See: http://governor.hawaii.gov/2013-state-of-the-state/

What's the difference?
      The Governor has already introduced  House Bill 916, that proposes we raise the minimum wage to $8.75 as of January 1, 2014, then each first of the year beginning January 1, 2015, the consumer price index would be used to keep the minimum wage on pace with the economy.  Ten other states already do a version of this.  See Arizona, Colorado (Article XVIII, Section 15 Colorado Constitution), Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio,  Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

    The cost of living index used to adjust minimum wage in House Bill 916 is  the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).  This is the same type of index used in calculations in other states with this method.  The difference will be the Consumer Price Index used for each state will relate to the respective State, while the National minimum wage will likely be a national average.   So while similar adjustment factors are used, the percentages of the change will be different to reflect the local area experience.

      Another measure modifying the minimum wage that is still active in the Senate is Senate Bill 331,SD2.  This bill increases the minimum wage in three stages ($8.25 by January 1, 2014; $8.75 by January 1, 2015; and $9.25 by January 1, 2016) then each year from January 1, 2017 adjusts the minimum wage by the same index as House Bill 916, although SD2 articulated Honolulu region.

     Finally, there is a third minimum wage provision House Bill 1028,HD2 ,  that has just four stages of increase ($7.75 on January 1, 2014; $8.25 January 1, 2015,  $8.75 on January 1, 2016 and $9.00 on January 1, 2017 HD2 version)  without any adjustment by the Consumer Price Index.  If the President is successful in putting a minimum wage of $9.00 in place with adjustments each year by the Consumer Price Index, the proposal in House Bill 1028 will not keep up with the federal limits.

Tip credit
      House Bill 916,  also includes an increase in tip credit.  Employers who have tipped employees would be allowed to deduct 30 cents from the minimum wage as long as the employee is earning a combined amount from wage and tips of an additional 50 cents per hour in tips.  So if the minimum wage were $8.75,  the employer may pay the tipped employee $8.45 per hour, as long as the combined amount of wages and tips is at least $9.25.

    SB 331, SD 2, now contains an undetermined amount of tip credit.

(This blog was updated 3/4/13 to reflect current Senate and House Drafts)




 

New Wage Rate Schedule for Public Works Posted

 The Wage Rate Schedule (WRS) for laborers and mechanics on public works construction jobs effective February 18, 2013, is posted on the DLIR Website at http://labor.hawaii.gov/rs/home/wages/72-2/.  By law (Section 104-2, HRS), the Director is required to issue the current prevailing wages for the duration of the project.  Contractors are required to pay the amounts that are currently prevailing whenever a new WRS is issued.  This means that as of Monday, WRS Bulletin 481 rates will apply to all laborers and mechanics on state and county construction public works.  Remember Monday is a state holiday, so the rate is 1.5 times the basic hourly rate plus the fringe benefit amount to get the overtime rate for each classification!

For other related information about Hawaii prevailing wage law, Chapter 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, check out our Wage Standards Division Prevailing Wage Information Page.

DLIR Annual Report Released

  The Annual Report for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for Fiscal Year 2012 was posted today.  You can find it under Reports at labor.hawaii.gov.  Providing this document for public review is an important element of transparency. 

Divisions suffer staffing shortages

Yes, it makes interesting reading even if it is somewhat dismal.  Many divisions are still struggling with staffing issues and laden with work that is slowly, being processed.  The important part of that sentence is "being processed".  Each area is working hard despite the thin ranks to keep the wheels turning.

Accomplishments

Despite low staffing issues each Division had important accomplishments in FY 12 I hope you will read about.  The Wage Standards Division managed to recover almost one million dollars in back wages for 362 employees.  In addition almost $85,000 was paid to the general fund in penalties.  More than half of the amount recovered under the prevailing wage law in Fiscal Year 12 can be attributed to one case that was distributed to 64 employees.  

Looking forward

With the legislature in full swing, it already looks as though minimum wage is going up as bills have made it past the first comittees on both the Senate (SB331 SD1)and House (HB 916) side.  Now the question seems to be, what level and when?  Only time will tell.

Hilo Retirement Leaves Big Island Without WSD Presence

Hilo LLES Retires

Today is the last day for our Hilo Labor Law Enforcement Specialist (LLES), Lori Hamada.  She is retiring from State employment after 31 years, 23 of them with Wage Standards!  Our best wishes for a happy and healthy retirement for Lori, she has given so much to the Wage Standards Division and the Hilo District Office.  The most important part of her job was serving the community, assisting employers with compliance and recovering unpaid wages for employees of Hawaii Island.

Calls forwarded to Oahu

We recognize that Lori has been a resource for employers asking about guidance for compliance and employees seeking assistance in getting their earned wages.  The Hilo phone number will still be active but all calls will be forwarded to Oahu specialists.  Questions and complaints will be resolved by specialists on Oahu, Maui, and Kauai as they are available.

Limited Walk-in Service available in Hilo

Sixteen and seventeen year olds will still be able to obtain child labor permits at the counter, although we encourage all teens to go online to apply.  Complaints can also be brought to the counter in Hilo, but faxing or mailing them to Oahu will be the most direct route.  Our Oahu address and contact information on Oahu is: 

830 Punchbowl Street, Room 340
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Phone: (808) 586-8777 
Fax:  (808) 586-8766

Thank you for your patience until we can get a replacement.

House Labor and Public Employment Committee Visits Wage Standards

Pictured left to right:  House Labor Committee Chair Mark Nakashima,
Kyle Yamashita,Vice Chair Mark Hashem, Bill Kunstman (behind)
 Director of Labor  Dwight Takamine, and Deputy Director Audrey Hidano



 LAB Visits DLIR

Members of the House Labor and Public Employment Committee made a visit to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations today.  Pictured here is some of the entourage at the Wage Standards Division customer counter.

Minimum Wage Bills

 One of the important issues being raised during this session will be an increase in minimum wage.  The Governor mentioned it on Tuesday in his State of the State address.  The Wage Standards Division enforces the minimum wage that is found in the Wage and Hour Law, Chapter 387, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  There hasn't been an increase in minimum wage since 2007.  The federal minimum wage and Hawaii minimum wage have been the same since July 24, 2009.  It surprises me that serious consideration of this idea has taken so long.  With the economy looking like it's on the rebound, the time is ripe.

For a historical reference of minimum wages at the federal and various states click here. The administration proposal for a minimum wage increase is in HB 916 and SB1147.  There are several other minimum wage increase proposals and I'm sure we're headed for some lively discussion about the pros and cons of all.  I look foward to some engaging commentary.  See you at the Capitol!