#US Department of Labor

US Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced legislation to help stop illegal child labor. The bipartisan Stop Child Labor Act would increase maximum fines for violations, establish new criminal penalties, allow victims harmed by violations to file private lawsuits, and encourage collaboration between employers and government to stop child labor violations before they occur.

Two Maui men were arrested on eight criminal counts for alleged involvement in labor trafficking and extortion, following the execution of search warrants at a Kīhei residence on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026.

Maui Job Corps is seeking referrals for young adults interested in free career training, as part of a new campaign to enroll 100 applicants by Christmas Day 2025.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from shutting down more than 100 Job Corps centers nationwide — including the Maui Job Corps Center — offering a moment of relief for staff and students who just days ago were bracing for sudden closures.

The $2.5 million in additional funding is part of the Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant.

As Maui wildfire survivors try to get back on their feet, another blow: A combination of uncertain federal funding from the US Department of Labor and insufficient available funds from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations have led to lost jobs Monday for 131 National Dislocated Worker Grant workers.

Hawaiʻi has been selected by the US Department of Labor as one of 13 states, along with the District of Columbia, to participate in the National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network initiative, according to an announcement from the Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Starting Oct. 7, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will implement additional tools for employers into the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES), in partnership with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and the US Department of Labor.

Pacific Resource Partnership and the Hawai‘i Regional Council of Carpenters is reminding workers on Tax Day, especially those in the construction industry, that it’s never okay for companies to pay employees under the table, deny them overtime pay and health benefits, or misclassify them as independent contractors.

The US Department of Labor recovered $134,000 in tips, overtime wages and damages and assessed nearly $5,700 in penalties after an investigation found that the owner of Maui’s L&L Hawaiian Barbecue at 270 Dairy Road, shorted employees’ tips and other pay.

The initiative is to commence during the 2024 federal fiscal year and enables Hawai’i government agencies to receive consultation, capacity-building support and ongoing mentoring to increase competitive employment  for people with disabilities. 

The funds allow the Hawaiʻi Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to provide people with temporary jobs focused on cleaning up debris and repairing damage caused by the fires, and providing humanitarian assistance to the wildfire survivors.

A federal investigation has recovered $290,314 in rightfully earned wages and damages owed to 95 workers after the pay practices of their employer – the operator of five Maui food trucks – willfully denied them their full wages.

A federal investigation recovered $117,710 in back wages and liquidated damages for 70 workers of the D.K. Restaurant Group in Hawaiʻi, which required servers to share their tips with managers after reducing managers’ salaries by at least 25%, according to a US Department of Labor news release.

The investigation led to the recovery of $97,503 in unpaid overtime wages for 137 workers. The division also assessed Golden Coin $23,240 in penalties for the “reckless nature” of its violations.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s National Farmworker Jobs Program — an educational, employment and training program administered by the US Department of Labor — is accepting applications across Hawaiʻi.

A $900 billion federal COVID-19 relief package was signed into law on Dec. 27. The Hawaiʻi Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) is currently reviewing HR133, which includes extensions of CARES Act unemployment insurance and assistance benefits.

Senator Mazie K. Hirono and Arkansas Senator John Boozman introduced a bill to renew several federal homeless veteran programs for the next fiscal year through 2020. The bill, known as the Keeping Our Commitment to Ending Veteran Homelessness Act of 2018, would renew seven US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and US Department of Labor […]

The US Department of Labor approved of a petition filed by the ILWU seeking adjustment assistance for bulk sugar workers who were affected by the HC&S closure on Maui

The US Dept. of Labor yesterday announced a $400,000 National Emergency Grant to assist with clean-up in the wake of the severe storm that hit Kauai and Maui in March.