Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

Hawaii, the 50th state admitted into the United States, is fairly remote from the 48 “contiguous” US states, both in terms of demographics and economics. According to a recent census, Hawaii is home to 1.3 million people spread out over an archipelago of eight islands in the central Pacific. HI’s economy is driven primarily by tourism, agriculture, and maritime, defense, and research institutes. Hawaii has a very distinct Polynesian influence, in terms of both its language and its cultural attitudes towards workplace decorum.

Hawaii’s antidiscrimination body is the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (also known as the DLIR). The DLIR enforces wage and hour, family leave, and public works laws, develops and enforces policies regarding occupational safety and health, manages labor and industrial relations appeals, deals with worker compensation and disability compensation claims, and handles other civil rights and job discrimination and harassment concerns.

The DLIR’s mission is to ensure productivity, safety, and economic protections for the state’s workers. The agency regularly gets input from both business and labor communities and holds hearings and policy debates.

One of the interesting cultural divisions in the state is between native-raised Hawaiians (“kama’aina”) and outsiders from the mainland and elsewhere (“haole”). Some haole laborers, students, and officials have at times complained about unfair treatment at work or in the school system.

The debate over how to integrate various diverse sectors of Hawaii’s population will no doubt continue, but if you or a loved one has been discriminated against, and you believe you may have a workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation case against a Hawaii employer, discuss your concerns with a Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum representative today.