Question: We are a group of college students working as Summer Fun leaders for Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation. We’ve been working since May 26 and were told that our first paycheck would (arrive) by June 15. The 15th came, and only the returning (second-year) Summer Fun leaders were paid; none of the first-year leaders were paid. We were then told that our first paycheck would be at the end of the month. Is this legal? Can they withhold our pay for that long?

Answers: It is not legal to withhold employees’ pay, but the city insists that is not happening.

Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 387 (“Wage and Hour Law”) and Chapter 388 (“Payment of Wages and Other Compensation”), spell out the broad requirements under state law. Among relevant points in section two of the latter chapter are that every employer “shall pay all wages due to the employer’s employees at least twice during each calendar month, on regular paydays designated in advance by the employer” and that “the earned wages of all employees shall be due and payable within seven days after the end of each pay period.”

Carolee Kubo, director of the city’s Department of Human Resources, said that first-year and returning Summer Fun workers are paid on the same semimonthly schedule, receiving checks on the 15th and final day of the month; there is no distinction in pay dates based on experience.

The date that an employee receives his or her first paycheck is determined by when that person’s payroll information was submitted and processed, she said.

“Summer Fun leaders who have worked and did not receive a paycheck on June 15th should expect to receive a paycheck on June 30th, the last day of the month,” she said.

Summer Fun leaders are being paid on time, she said, adding, however, that “if the Summer Fun worker did not submit all the required paperwork in a timely manner, it may have caused a delay in their paycheck.”

When we followed up, you said that you and others had submitted the required employment paperwork on time.

You should be paid on Thursday. If you are not, there are several remedies available to you under the law.

Q: What are they doing on Kapiolani Boulevard in McCully? It seems like that work has been going on forever.

A: The water-system improvement project, which spans Kapiolani Boulevard from McCully to Date streets, began March 31, 2014, according to the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

A contractor is replacing about 2,800 feet of 12-inch water main installed in 1938 and about 1,000 feet of 8-inch water main installed in 1953, along with related equipment such as manhole covers and fire hydrants.

The BWS issues periodic updates about traffic modifications, and advises motorists to take alternate routes during working hours, which generally are Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If you can’t avoid the area, expect delays and plan for additional travel time.

Among current advisories for that stretch, from the BWS website, as of Sunday:

>> Until further notice: The left Diamond Head-bound lane of Kapiolani Boulevard between University Avenue and Date Street is closed 24 hours a day.

>> Today, during working hours: Roving lane closures on Kapiolani Boulevard between McCully and Hausten streets; and closure of left and center Diamond Head-bound lanes of Kapiolani Boulevard between Hausten and Date streets, which will transition into the closure of the two center Diamond Head-bound lanes.

>> Tuesday and Wednesday, during working hours: Closure of left and center Diamond Head-bound lanes of Kapiolani Boulevard between Hausten and Date streets, which will change into the closure of the two center Diamond Head-bound lanes.

>> Thursday and Friday, during working hours: Closure of the left and center Diamond Head-bound lanes of Kapiolani Boulevard between Isenberg Street and University Avenue.

Auwe

Auwe to the person who stole the beautiful torch ginger bouquet from my father’s grave at Manoa Chinese Cemetery. Shame on you. Those were special flowers for my father as an expression of my love for him. — Grieving

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.