State and federal investigators raided the Maile Sky Court in Waikiki on Monday in response to allegations of construction irregularities at a $25 million renovation project there.
Investigators from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations entered the construction management office and work areas with investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ (DCCA) Regulated Industry Complaints Office.
“It was an unannounced visit,” said Bill Kuntsman, spokesman for the state DLIR. “We were acting on a tip. The allegations involve anywhere from 80 to 100 construction workers. This is one of the larger investigations that we’ve conducted at a construction site.”
Kunstman said Selby Construction Services, the project’s general management contractor, and Texas- based R&R Construction Services, a subcontractor, are the focus of the investigation. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser could not reach these companies Monday.
California-based Clearview Hotel Capital LLC owns the budget Waikiki hotel, which it purchased for $76 million in 2015. The company, which could not immediately be reached for comment, had previously announced that its ownership plans included a comprehensive renovation followed by the repositioning of the hotel into a Holiday Inn Express.
Kunstman said the investigation is ongoing and results are not immediately expected. The work site was not shut down because the allegations do not concern workers’ health or safety, he said.
Investigators are examining allegations that the firms possibly misclassified construction employees as independent contractors and conducted work off the books to avoid payments for workers’ compensation, prepaid health care, unemployment insurance, overtime and other requirements, Kunstman said. Licenses to operate in Hawaii and tax payments are also required, he said.
The Regulated Industries Complaints Office (RICO) investigates and prosecutes possible licensing law violations. DCCA spokesman William Nhieu said information about the pending RICO investigation was not available. Kunstman said the state will determine whether the construction companies complied with federal minimum wage and overtime requirements.
“When a 40-story property is renovated, laws protecting workers and fair competition must be followed,” said DLIR Director Linda Chu Takayama. “We applaud visitor industry owners that make deliberate efforts to hire contractors that are in compliance with laws protecting worker rights and benefits.”
This latest labor investigation follows a similar investigation that took place at Ala Moana Center last year. This spring several Ala Moana Center contractors were fined thousands of dollars at the conclusion of a state investigation that found them guilty of widespread violations of labor laws and requirements.
Such investigations are not limited to the construction industry, Chu Takayama said.
“This summer the DLIR found unpaid wages and unemployment insurance for hair salon workers who were simply not on record as employees,” she said.
CORRECTION
The last name of Bill Kunstman, spokesman for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, was misspelled in an earlier version of this story and in Tuesday’s print edition.
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