D.B. Hawaii, Inc., a Hawaii corporation doing business as Polynesian Hostel, has agreed to pay $110,000 in back wages for failing to pay 91 employees the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
An additional $16,000 already was paid as compensation to a worker who was unlawfully terminated for filing a complaint, according to the Wage and Hour Division.
Polynesian Hostel recruited foreign and domestic tourists to staff many of its hostel positions in exchange for compensation in lodging and food.
“This ‘barter’ system provided an unfair competitive advantage in the hostel market industry through the underpayment of statutorily required minimum wages, while also locking out local workers from legitimate employment opportunities,” said Terence Trotter, the division’s district director in Hawaii.
Polynesian Hostel provides single bedroom and dormitory-style accommodations for low-budget travelers in Waikiki.
Jose A. Carnevali is the Deputy Regional Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Labor – San Francisco
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Tina Dang aka Khoa Phuong Dang aka Khoa Dang Reiter aka Tina Reiter is D.B. Hawaii, Inc which owns and operates the Polynesian Beach Club Hostel in Waikiki. She has a long history of ripping people off. She began her business by scamming her own hostel employer actually. She would convince guests headed for the hostel to stay at her apartment instead. That's how she got into the hostel business. And yes she definitely did scam the system by hiring under the table or trading lodging for work. She's being doing this from day one. So I'm not surprised she was finally sued. What does surprise me is how little she was made to pay.
I worked for her for several months in the main office at the Polynesian hostel (as did my fiance at the time). I tried to alert the I.R.S. to the fact that she also insisted on dealing in cash with guests and kept less than reliable books and records of her bookings (in pencil no less!). I was certain she was doing this to hiding money from both the State of Hawaii and federal government so she wouldn't have to pay taxes.
She's nothing more than a shady con artist who has gotten away with far too much for far too long.
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