Matson lowers fuel surcharge
HONOLULU - The largest shipping company that carries goods to Hawaii from the Mainland is decreasing its fuel surcharge by 3 percentage points.
Matson Navigation Co. says effective Sunday the surcharge will go from 42 percent to 39 percent for Hawaii service. It will go from 38.5 percent to 35.5 percent for Guam, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and Micronesia services.
Matson previously decreased the surcharge by 3.5 percentage points last month.
The company says the adjustment is the result of recent declines in bunker fuel prices.
The latest downward adjustment represents a reduction in shipping costs for most customers of $70 to $120 per container.
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Hilo company pays back wages
HILO - The U.S. Department of Labor says a Big Island company that conducts wilderness therapy for adolescents and teens has paid more than $225,000 in back wages to employees.
The department said Wednesday the wages were paid to 121 current and former employees of Pacific Quest in Hilo after an investigation found overtime, minimum wage and record-keeping violations.
Pacific Quest representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The department's Wage and Hour Division's Honolulu office found that the company never calculated or paid an overtime premium for field workers who worked more than 40 hours per week. They worked shifts at a campsite, averaging 122 hours over a two-week period. They were paid straight time for all hours worked that did not always meet the federal minimum wage.
