KilaKila Employer Services will continue local operations from its offices in Pukalani, Maui, while ALTRES will send additional personnel to Maui to enhance the delivery of outsourced HR services, including payroll, benefits administration, safety training, employee record keeping, compliance, and workers’ compensation administration.

“Barron and I have been friends for many years,” said KilaKila founder and owner, Carole Kooy, of ALTRES’ President and CEO Barron Guss. “Although we’ve owned companies in the same business, we never acted as competitors. I’m thrilled that our companies are now coming together to better support our clients.”

Earlier this year, Kooy visited ALTRES in Honolulu and saw a demonstration of HR Symphony^TM, their award-winning, cloud-based payroll and HR information system. “It was head and shoulders above the other world-class systems we had been researching,” Kooy said. “And this one was clearly created with Hawaii employers in mind.”

That meeting set the wheels in motion to bring the two HR outsourcing companies together. For ALTRES, the merger means being able to serve Maui’s expanding market and businesses more effectively. For KilaKila clients, it means gaining unmatched new tools, enhanced technology and simplicityHR’s comprehensive service offerings.

Kooy will continue in her current role of oversight and guidance, while her daughter, Ryanda Sarraude, will manage day-to-day operations on Maui.

With a total of 145 employees, the combined organization will serve as the virtual HR department for over 800 businesses statewide. “Back in 1981, I created Hawaii’s first HR outsourcing business. Until now, we haven’t really promoted simplicityHR on Maui, out of respect for Carole and her business,” said Barron Guss, ALTRES’ President and CEO. “With this merger, we now have offices, experienced personnel, new efficiencies, and genuine connections to Maui’s business community.”

Two new Hawaii state laws go in effect as of January 1, 2012.  

Employment protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence

Civil rights laws were created to protect certain groups of people according to certain characteristics, such as race, sex, religion, and national origin. A new state law, which takes effect on January 1, 2012, adds “victims of domestic or sexual violence” to this list of protected groups, or classes. 

Act 206 extends employment protections to employees and prospective employees who are

• Victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, or
• Parents of a minor child who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence.

The Act makes it illegal for an employer to use victim status as a deciding factor in

• Refusing to hire or employ or in barring or discharging from employment, and
• Discriminating against any individual in compensation or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

This new law amends the current Hawaii “Victims Leave” law, which allows eligible employees up to 30 days of unpaid leave (depending on the size of the employer) and re-titles it to “Victims Protections.” Under the amended law, employers will be required to provide “reasonable accommodations” in the workplace for employees who claim to be victims of domestic or sexual violence, unless doing so would create an “undue hardship” on the operations of the employer. Employers may require the employee to verify their status before providing any accommodation(s). Status may be verified not more than once every six months. 

“Reasonable accommodations” in this context include, but are not limited to: 

• Screening the employee’s phone calls, 
• Changing the employee’s contact information, 
• Changing the employee’s work location, 
• Restructuring the job functions of the employee,
• Installing locks and other security devices, and 
• Allowing the employee to work flexible hours.

What should you do?

Before taking any adverse action (such as not hiring someone, revoking a job offer, or terminating an employee) or denying any requests for “reasonable accommodations” from a job applicant or employee who may fall under this new protected category, we recommend you seek legal counsel.

Civil unions to receive same benefits 

Another law going into effect January 1, 2012 requires employers in Hawaii to extend the same benefits to partners in a civil union as they do to spouses in a marriage. These benefits may include health insurance, other types of insurance, leave entitlements, and merchandise discounts. However, benefits granted under federal law may not apply.

The new law applies to both same-sex and heterosexual couples, and specific terms (such as spouse, family, immediate family, dependent, and next of kin) that indicate a spousal relationship will also apply to parties in a civil union.

The NLRB postponed implementation of the new posting requirement to “allow for enhanced education and outreach to employers, particularly those who operate small and medium sized businesses.”  The NLRB cited confusion over which businesses fall within the jurisdiction of the NLRA as the reason for postponing the new poster requirement. 

There was no mention of the legal challenges from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers that claim the NLRB has over stepped its bounds by actively promoting unionization.

The heat is on the current NLRB after a number of union-friendly actions that are touching a nerve with the business sector.  Stay tuned for more battles on the labor front. 

The blog post, “NLRB Posting Requirement is Postponed” was written by Clifford Jamile, Chief Executive Officer, at Kilakila Employer Services.

Website: http://www.kilakila.com

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