I've worked for a major medical center in Honolulu for eight years. I'm now a born-again Christian and wish to attend worship and gathering sessions held by my Christian group, usually on weekends. I asked my employer to switch my days off to Saturday/Sunday at least every other week, but was told this could not be done because they did not want other co-workers to ask for the same change. But the schedule is being changed for a worker to attend the National Guard. I was also told that if I wanted those days off, I would have to take unpaid leave or vacation. Either has to be requested in advance but may be denied. Is this against the law, to deny one's right to religion? Employee can’t get
days off for worship"Basically, the law in Hawaii requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious practice, unless an undue hardship would result," said Pat Stanley, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
"The burden is on the employer to show the undue hardship. There cannot be a mere assumption that in granting one case, that there would be a cascading effect of hardship resulting from that one case," he said.
But it also depends on what you're talking about -- whether to attend 24-hour retreats or two-hour meetings. That's why something like this would "get down to a case-by-case" decision, Stanley said.
He said the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission "could determine the adequacy of the accommodation" to your religion. Call 586-8636.
Until a few years ago, the Labor Department's enforcement division would have looked into a complaint like yours. It handles wage issues, child-labor practices, etc. But a change in the law made the commission more independent and complaints like yours now would fall into its realm.
We went to a big tent sale with different vendors in Mapunapuna after seeing ads on TV and hearing about it on the radio. There was never any mention of an admission charge. When we got there, we found out there was a charge of $4 per person, even if you didn't buy anything. Shouldn't they have said in advance that there was an admission charge?
It makes business sense to tell people ahead of time so they aren't surprised and angry, but there is no state law or rule that requires prior disclosure of admission charges, said Jo Ann Uchida, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection.
Whether advertising may be misleading "depends on what the ad said; it's kind of contextual," she said. Without knowing exactly what the ads said, she could not comment specifically on your complaint.
However, Joe Kahlil, floor manager of The Big Sale, said there was no attempt to mislead consumers and "if any customer comes in and is not satisfied, if they don't buy anything, we do give a refund."
He also said the $4 entitles you to return for free the next day and compared the charge to membership fees for discount stores, such as Sam's Club.
The admission charge helps pay for rental of the building and for advertising, he said.
The Big Sale is "like a liquidation sale," with many vendors offering merchandise at bargain prices, Kahlil said. The sale was scheduled for three weekends, ending this coming weekend.
Kahlil had no answer as to why the admission fee isn't disclosed in ads, but said 70-80 percent of customers "already know us" from previous years.
Mahalo
To all those wonderful people who helped me and my sister when our car stalled at the Lahaina Cannery Shopping Mall on Father's Day. Our niece from Oahu was awed by all those coming to help! Maui no ka oi. -- Charlene
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