Haw. Code R. § 12-51-11 - Complaints by employees
(a) Any employee or
their designated representative who believes that a violation of the law exists
in any workplace where the employee is employed may request an inspection of
the workplace by giving notice of the alleged violation to the director, the
administrator, or to a safety and health compliance officer. The notice shall
be written and state with reasonable particularity, the grounds for the
inspection. It shall be signed by the employee or their designated
representative. A copy shall be provided to the employer or to the employer's
agent by the director, the administrator, or a safety and health compliance
officer no later than at the time of inspection, except the complainant's name
and the names of individual employees shall not appear on any record published,
released, or made available by the department. In case of imminent danger
situations, a phone call shall be sufficient to initiate inspection activity.
In other cases, phone calls shall not be regarded as official complaints and
may or may not be acted upon, at the discretion of the director.
(b) If, upon receipt of notification, the
director determines that the notice meets the requirements in subsection (a)
above and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged violation
exists, the director shall cause an inspection to be made as soon as
practicable to determine if the alleged violation exists. Inspections made
pursuant to this section shall not be limited only to matters in the
complaint.
(c) Prior to or during
any inspection of a workplace, any employee or designated representative of the
employees employed in that workplace may notify the safety and health
compliance officer in writing of any violation of the law which they have
reason to believe exists in the workplace. Any notice shall comply with
subsection (a) above.
(d) Any
employee who believes that he or she has been unfairly discharged, suspended,
or refused pay for time spent engaged in inspection related activities, or
otherwise discriminated against by the employer for reasons relating to the
employee's exercising of rights under the law, such as refusal to engage in
unsafe work situations or for the filing of a complaint in accordance with
subsection (a) above, may, within sixty days of the alleged act of
discrimination, file a complaint, setting forth in detail the circumstances,
with the department.
(1) Upon receipt of a
complaint, the department shall investigate, and if discrimination in violation
of chapter 396, HRS, is found, shall initiate appropriate action against the
employer.
(2) The director may
extend the sixty day filing period on recognized equitable principles (i.e.,
where the employer has concealed, or misled the employee regarding the grounds
for discharge or other adverse action) or where the discrimination is in the
nature of a continuing violation.
(3) The pendency of a grievance-arbitration
proceeding or filing with another agency, among others, are unqualifying
circumstances to extend the sixty-day filing period.
Notes
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