Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: What are the state guidelines regarding jury duty? Some of us have compared notes on how our employers handle this obligation. Some let you go with no penalties, some force you to take your vacation days, others deduct your sick leave, etc. What are the rules? And where do we go if we feel the need to complain? Employers not required
to compensate for jury dutyAnswer: There is no state law that requires an employer to compensate you while you are on jury duty.
However, there is a law (Hawaii Revised Statutes 612-25) that says an employer cannot fire you because you missed work for serving on a jury, explained Freida Baker, the state Judiciary's jury pool supervisor.
In Hawaii, most employers do compensate their employees even if they are serving on a jury, she noted. However, some require that the employees pass on the $30-a-day jury fee to them in return for receiving their regular salaries.
Some employees have jury duty covered by a labor union contract. For example, Baker said, city employees have a contract in which they are entitled to keep the jury fee.
Federal employees who serve on a federal jury get paid leave but do not receive the $40-a-day federal jury fee, Baker said. Federal employees who serve on state juries must pass on the state fee to the federal government.
Although most employers here do compensate employees for jury service, there are some exceptions, Baker said, such as with some construction workers.
In some of those cases, there may be a financial hardship. Many people will serve anyway, she said, because they feel a civil obligation. However, a worker can ask the court to be excused because of financial hardship, Baker said.
"Throughout the country there are different innovations happening," Baker said. For example, some states have laws that require employers to compensate jurors with three days of pay for jury service, but may not require such payment after the fourth day of service.
Q: When are they going to remove the plastic stanchions on the eastbound Kunia Road onramp to H-1? There has been no construction for the past month, and two lanes are needed to get on the freeway, but those temporary stanchions are creating a traffic bottleneck.
A: The work on the eastbound shoulder lane on the H-1 from the Kunia onramp recently was completed.
The state Department of Transportation conducted its "pre-final" inspection, and "the contractor is proceeding with the punch-list work," said spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.
It's hoped that the shoulder lane, for morning rush-hour traffic from 5 to 8 a.m. only, will be reopened by the end of this month.
"During regular hours, motorists are not supposed to use two lanes to get on the freeway," Kali added.
Auwe
To the yellow school bus that nearly smashed us about 8:15 a.m. Sept. 23 at the intersection of Pahoa and 21st avenues. We were traveling east on Pahoa, with the right of way, and observed the bus stopped at 21st Avenue, heading makai. The bus seemed to ease out, then continued across the intersection, not slowing to allow us across.It was so sudden that all I could do was accelerate, veering to the right to prevent being hit. The driver either was not watching his right and/or was not aware that there is no stop sign for the Pahoa Avenue traffic. The state Department of Transportation was unable to determine which company owns that bus. I hope this will alert drivers to the fact that Pahoa Avenue has no stop sign and vehicles must yield to cars traveling up or down Pahoa! -- No name
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