Penalties will be much more stiff for employers violating laws on workers’ compensation, temporary disability insurance (TDI) and prevailing wages, under measures signed into law by Gov. David Ige.

Workers’ comp insurance penalties will be $100 per employee per day, up from $10 per employee per day. If an employer is not compliant with maintaining TDI, the penalty also is $100 per employee per day, up from $1 per employee per day. The increases are the first in 28 years and 47 years, respectively. Violations of prevailing wage laws on public construction projects also are much harsher.

It’s a good time for Hawaii employers to make sure they are compliant in all applicable areas.

Housing First proves successful, thank goodness

This could hardly be called a surprise, could it? But it was a nice non-surprise anyway. A year after the city’s Housing First program began placing the chronically homeless in permanent rental units, 97 percent of those 166 clients still occupy them.

This comes from a University of Hawaii study led by Jack Barile, an assistant professor of psychology. Barile is now convinced that providing stable housing first, before addressing addiction or other problems, is most cost-effective. Very few fell back into homelessness, and many reported a sense of hope and well-being.

In a city where the median price of a home just topped $760,000, that’s a totally relatable reaction.