Operators of the Pineapple Grill at Kapalua on Maui have paid nearly $113,000 in back wages, tips and damages to 120 employees following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division in Honolulu found that cash wages of tipped employees were reduced to below the $7.25 minimum wage rate, while the servers were unlawfully required to pay a portion of their tips to kitchen staff.
Kitchen staff members already were paid at or above the minimum wage.
Servers also were required to report to the restaurant before the start of their evening shifts to clean glassware, fill salt and pepper shakers, and polish silverware, without compensation.
The employer has paid the workers $112,980 for the violations found under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the DOL announced Monday.
"Employers must count and pay for all hours worked by employees, including required duties that occur before and after the servers’ scheduled shift," said Terence Trotter, the division’s district director in Honolulu, in a statement. "The Fair Labor Standards Act also prohibits any arrangement between employers and tipped employees where any part of the tip received from the customer becomes the property of the employer."
Pacific Rim Bank shareholders OK deal
Pacific Rim Bank, which in March 2006 became the first commercial bank to open in Hawaii since statehood, officially will change its name Tuesday after being acquired by an Irvine, Calif.-based company.
The bank, whose only branch is at Waterfront Plaza in downtown Honolulu, will become a member of the First Foundation Bank network following an 86 percent approval vote Friday by Pacific Rim’s shareholders. First Foundation and Pacific Rim initially announced the acquisition agreement in November.
Privately held Pacific Rim, which has 23 full-time-equivalent employees, had $130.9 million in assets as of March 31. First Foundation Inc., the parent company of First Foundation Bank, is publicly traded and had $1.47 billion in assets at the end of the first quarter.
First Foundation, with 158 employees, saw its stock close at $18.93 Monday.
Teen auto insurance in isles the cheapest
Hawaii’s nondiscrimination policies mean adding teen drivers to policies is cheaper than in other states.
Married couples pay an average of 80 percent more for auto insurance upon adding a teenage driver to their policy, but Hawaii’s average increase is only 17 percent, according to a new comparison from InsuranceQuotes.com.
The most expensive state in which to insure a teen driver is New Hampshire, according to the company, which found that the average premium jumps 115 percent. In other states, adding teenage drivers to auto policies causes premiums to double, rising 104 percent in Wyoming and Illinois, 103 percent in Maine and 102 percent in Rhode Island.
Because Hawaii is the only state that prohibits age and length of driving experience from affecting car insurance costs, teen drivers cost only 17 percent more to insure. It is by far the lowest increase in the nation. The second lowest is in New York, with a 53 percent increase, followed by Michigan (57 percent) and North Carolina (60 percent).
While in many states it is much more expensive to insure a teenage male than a female, insurers in Hawaii and five other states are prohibited from making that differentiation.
In addition to Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania also prohibit insurers from using gender in rate calculations.
Free rides available for blood donors
Uber is partnering with the Blood Bank of Hawaii to provide free rides to and from donor centers Tuesday.
Free rides will be given to donors between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. To take advantage of the ride service, call the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 845-9966.
Reservations on UberX will be free for donors going to the Blood Bank of Hawaii Dillingham who use code BBHDILL. If going to the Young Street location, riders should use code BBHYOUNG.
For more information, visit t.uber.com/bloodbank.
Panelists will discuss future of tourism
The Hawaii Society of Business Professionals will host a panel on the future of tourism at a Thursday luncheon at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.
Panelists include Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association; Michael Troy, Hawaii field marketing director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts; and Julie Arigo, general manager of the Waikiki Parc Hotel.
Check-in begins at 11:30 a.m. with the program starting at noon in the Mauna Kea Ballroom. Cost is $55 for guests and $48 for HSBP members and members of the Waikiki Improvement Association, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, and Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. Tables of 10 are available for $400. Register for the event at hsbp.biz.
ON THE MOVE
Bank of Hawaii has announced the following new vice presidents:
» Denise Inos has been promoted to vice president from assistant vice president at the Ala Moana Banking Center. She joined the bank in 2004 as a relief teller and also worked as a teller, teller supervisor, service associate and relief service manager.
» Ivan Lee, corporate policies and procedures manager, has been promoted to vice president from assistant vice president. Lee was a technical writer when he joined the bank in 1998 and also worked as an operations administrator as well as a corporate policies and procedures manager.
» Ilona Souza has been promoted to vice president from assistant vice president at the Lihue Branch. Souza joined the bank in 1969 and held positions such as branch control clerk, executive secretary, technical productivity specialist and consumer sales manager.
Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort has announced the appointment of Charles Charbonneau as the resort’s executive chef. He has 30 years of experience in the restaurant and hotel industry, including previously serving as the executive chef at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii island as well as corporate chef and corporate director of food and beverage for Interstate Hotels and Resorts. Charbonneau was also selected as the personal chef for President Bill Clinton during a summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts in 1994.
