Hawaiian Cleaning Company Fined for Withholding Overtime Pay

The U.S. Department of Labor is actively seeking hundreds of workers who are owed their share of more than US$3.8 million in unpaid overtime withheld deliberately by a Kilauea, Hawaii, staffing agency and Lihue, Hawaii, cleaning contractor following a federal investigation and litigation.  

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Alacrity Employment Services in Kilauea and Hawaii Care and Cleaning Inc. in Lihue deprived 1,133 employees of their rightful overtime wages between March 5, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2024. Investigators also determined the employers frequently falsified pay records to mask their violations.

“Overtime worked should be overtime paid,” said Min Kirk, Wage and Hour Division acting district director in Honolulu. “An employer cannot evade their responsibility for overtime pay by using schemes such as excluding workers from payroll or underreporting their actual work hours.”

On Jan. 14, the department’s Office of the Solicitor obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii requiring Hawaii Care and Cleaning, Alacrity Employment Services, and their respective owners, William Allen and Amy Galtes, to pay $1.9 million in back wages and an equal amount in damages to the affected workers. The judgment also directs Hawaii Care and Cleaning and Alacrity Employment Services to pay $50,000 in civil money penalties given their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

If you or someone you know was employed by these companies between March 5, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2024, contact the division’s Honolulu District Office at (808) 541-1361 to find out if you are owed back wages and damages.