ANOTHER LOCAL STORE CITED FOR FAILURE TO PAY MINIMUM WAGE

Another local department store has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor for failing to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not providing the required minimum wage pay rate for nearly 50 workers.

USDOL says its Wage and Hour Division found that O & O Inc., a local department store that also wholesales to smaller grocery and convenience stores, failed to pay the FLSA’s required minimum wage and overtime premium to 49 workers.

The news release says the WDH investigation centered on the company's Nu'uuli village location for a period of two years, beginning in March 2012.

WHD investigators says the company paid a "day rate" to employees between $25 and $30 for 8-hour shifts, which did not equate to the American Samoa minimum wage of $4.60 per hour for the retail and wholesale industry.

Additionally, employees did not receive the premium pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

USDOL says O & O Inc., has endorsed an agreement to comply with FLSA requirements and to pay $41,507 in back wages.

Employers and employees needing more information regarding the FLSA can contact local WHD local investigator Siri Poondee at 254-4585 or www.dol.gov/whd online.

O3B NETWORKS PREPARING FOR LAUNCH OF SATELLITES 5-8

O3b Networks’ second group of 4 satellites have begun their journey from the Thales Alenia Space facility in Rome to the launch site in French Guiana.

The company’s first 4 satellites, which were launched in 2013, are operating successfully in orbit. Telecom Cook Islands was the first customer to be brought up on the constellation earlier this year. Many more customers are completing testing and will be turning up commercial service before the next launch.

“The reaction that we have had so far from customers and end users has been spectacular. We have been saying that O3b will deliver ‘Fiber from the Sky’ and our customers are now telling us that they are experiencing exactly that. The combination of high speed and low latency is compelling. We can’t wait to get our next 4 satellites in orbit and to bring more customers and services on line, ” Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks said.

BANKOH CEO SAYS EXIT FROM AM SAMOA STILL ON HOLD

Hawaii’s Star-Advertiser newspaper reported over the weekend that Bank of Hawaii Chief Executive Officer Peter Ho said the company feels like “a yo-yo” regarding its American Samoa situation after announcing in November 2012 that it would close its two branches there in the first quarter of 2013.

Speaking at the annual shareholders meeting on Friday the Star-Advertiser quotes him saying, “We were getting out and became aware of certain situations market-wide that really gave us pause to rethink our decision there,” Ho said. “There was nothing from a regulatory standpoint preventing us from moving out, but we did realize if were going to move out completely, that would have a pretty damaging effect potentially on the local economy, mostly for the payment system. And absorbing that, we came to the conclusion that until we have a viable opportunity to exit the marketplace without creating that sort of impact on the economy … (staying there) is something we need to do.”

Ho acknowledged that Bankoh was not losing money from its operations in American Samoa, where the bank had been since 1969.

“It’s just not as efficient an operation we’d like to have in our portfolio of operations,” he said. “We just feel that the right thing for us to do is to give that community (more time). They’re a long ways away, there are a lot of people that don’t have a lot, and we want to make sure that we’re taking care of them until there’s an opportunity for someone else to come in and support them.”

Local startup bank, Community Bank of American Samoa (IO) is hoping to fill that role and last week called on the community to participate in a survey in order for it to gain additional information about banking needs that the startup company said will be valuable as it progresses through the process of gaining regulatory approval.

Star-Advertiser noted the exit of Bankoh would deprive American Samoa of its only U.S. bank, delay cash checking and make it more difficult to send and access money.

Ho’s statement about the American Samoa operation came after his main message to shareholders that the company is not yet in a position to increase its dividend.

He told shareholders that the bank wants to solidify its financial position further before raising its quarterly payout from 45 cents a share.

The Star-Advertiser says Bankoh has been stuck on that dividend since December 2008 when it boosted it from 44 cents one year after the start of the Great Recession.