Yesterday, I described my history suffering Institutional Racism at Hawaiian Electric. Today I’ll provide a detailed summary and timeline showing how Hawaiian Electric management appears to have interfered and blacklisted/blackballed employment opportunities for me at HDS, Hawaiian Dental Services.
There are thousands of residents and mainland contractors employed by the state’s primary energy provider. Employees I met and coworkers with whom I partnered are some of the smartest, kindest, most compassionate, hard-working, and dedicated human beings on the planet. There’s truly an aloha spirit among rank and file employees.
Senior management is the weakness. Few listen to me. Company claims I’m a disgruntled employee. Loved my job. Want only to return. Not disgruntled. Simply want Hawaiian Electric to live up to their promised corporate ethics and properly serve local residents. This is a public-regulated utility and we suffer highest energy costs in the nation.
On the other hand, Jeff Ubben, CEO of ValueAct Capital, directs a San Francisco investment company managing some $10 billion in assets. I’m only a tiny mosquito. He’s a giant. After I blew the whistle, Ubben triggered a tsunami warning about bad management.
Prior to SARS-CoV-2 breakout, national analysts warned of pending disaster. HEI (HE) stock traded just south of $42 and consensus of financial experts predicted doom on the horizon. Stock currently hovers around $36 and forecasters predict corporate value to fall further over the next 12 months.
Mr. Ubben forced disgraced HECO President and CEO Alan M. Oshima out. HEI Chairman of the Board, Jeffrey N. Watanabe, retired quietly. Corporate structure is in shambles.
Management is extremely incompetent due to outdated personnel policies and dangerous plans for the future. President and CEO Connie Lau’s board wants to plant an estimated 15 million solar panels on our islands, which lie in a hurricane zone. Some will be installed on rooftops. The pictures below show what happens to rooftops in hurricane winds.
Hawaiian Electric will deploy remaining panels, solar farms and battery repositories on an estimated 5,500 football fields of lusciously-green and beautiful ‘aina. Land is Hawaii’s most valuable asset. Hawaiian Electric planners want to cover it with silicone, plastic and battery acid. Picture below documents shattered state-of-the-art Tesla field after Hurricane Maria.
Hawaiian Electric Cheated. Now Appears to Blacklist.
The communications below cover the approximate one month interaction between me, Director of Human Resources Hawaii Dental Service Jan Iga, and comments by Hawaiian Electric’s star attorney and Super Lawyer, Joseph A. Ernst.
Mr. Ernst has hosted numerous business roundtables (see August 14, 2018 Employment Law Seminar) and media discussions over recent years warning local business officials to update corporate medical cannabis policies, as state and national laws have changed significantly. Hawaiian Electric did not heed his advice in my case.
Joseph A. Ernst, Director at Torkildson, Katz, Moore, Hetherington & Harris, joined us in studio to talk about the [medical cannabis] issue and a chance for businesses to learn more. Ernst says many employers and employees often don’t realize how many rules and regulations are covered by employment law, leading to confusion for employers and employees alike.
Mr. Ernst pointed out a recent Massachusetts Supreme Court case, Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC affirmed an employee’s right to use medical cannabis, saying an employee who was terminated for her use of the drug could file a handicap discrimination lawsuit. [source]
As a twenty-year-plus public health analyst, I exceeded all qualification for the Hawaii Dental Service positions, which had been posted for months. You decide.
October 11, 2019
Aloha Sir,
On August 18, 2019, we received your online application for our Pricing Analyst position and we are wondering if you are still interested in this position? If you are still interested in this position I have a few questions, that I’m hoping you could answer:
In your online application, the desired salary you indicated was $110,000.00, is this negotiable because this is well above our salary range. Our salary range for this position is $60,000.00 – $70,000.00. Unfortunately, this position does not come with parking, however the company does subsidize the bus pass at 100%, would this be an issue for you?
I look forward to hearing back from you. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
JAN M. IGA, PHR | Director of Human Resources
Hawaii Dental Service
October 16, 2019
Aloha Sir,
Thank you for your response. I tried reaching out to you last Friday, however, I was only able to leave a voicemail message.
I was wondering, if you are still interested in the Pricing Analyst position, we also do have a Manager, Data Analysis position that may be of interest as well. Below is a link to the job description. If you are interested in any of our opportunities, please let me know when it would be a good time to connect over the phone with you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
JAN M. IGA, PHR | Director of Human Resources
Hawaii Dental Service
October 18, 2019
Aloha Sir,
It was very nice to connect with you over the phone today. I look forward to meeting with you on October 22, 2019 (Tuesday) at 11:00 AM. Please anticipate on being here for approximately one hour.
In addition, I’m attaching our Employment Application. Please complete this and bring it with you to your interview.
You are able to park in our building and we will be able to validate your parking. Our building address is below, and we are located in the Bishop Street Tower of the Topa Towers (Old Amfac building). The entrance to the parking is located on Ala Moana Blvd/Nimitz Hwy. As you come out of the parking elevators hallway, you will veer off to the right making your way towards the exit, but before you exit, you will see a corridor on your left hand side – the elevators to our tower is in that corridor.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. Have a great weekend!
Thank you,
JAN M. IGA, PHR | Director of Human Resources
Hawaii Dental Service
October 21, 2019
Aloha e Sir.
I received word that you reached out to the manager of the department you worked in as contractor requesting that you list her as your supervisor and a reason for your departure. You may want to inform HDS that HECO requests that any verification of employment be made to the Human Resources department.
For contractors, HR simply verifies employment and that the person was a contractor (in this case an independent contractor of EdgeRock). HECO does not provide personal references.
If you have other questions like this, please let me know.
October 22, 2019
Aloha e Jan,
Really great to meet you today. Appreciate your time and background about HDS you provided. We have a great fit from a technical point of view. Intriguing position. Will look forward to meeting other team members.
One thing I need to mention about HECO. I listed my supervisor as requested but HR informed me Ms. Yafuso (or any other staff member) can’t comment about my tenure with the company. They want all calls or inquiry to be directed to HR. I listed HR Director Shana Buco and her information in the final field of the application.
Thank you again for your time. You made the questionnaire a lot of fun. Thank you!
November 5, 2019
Aloha Sir,
Thank you for following up on the other position as well. Unfortunately, we are pursuing other candidates at this time for the Pricing Analyst position and I regret to inform you that we are no longer considering you for this position.
I wish you the best in your search for gainful employment and I hope that our paths will cross again in the future.
Thank you,
JAN M. IGA, PHR | Director of Human Resources
Hawaii Dental Service
What My Manager and Coworkers Say
YOU have been a great asset to our team and it is your personality and humble nature that makes all of us so comfortable working together. We have had contractors on the DBA team before, but never with the synergy and positive energy that you bring with you. I believe you have had the greatest influence in our success and glad that we selected the right contractor. You have definitely made your mark here at HECO and have set the bar very high for future contractors!
Thank you for being you…keep doing what you do…keep that good karma flowing!
Lori
Project Manager
Hawaiian Electric
Thank you for the quick turnaround on this request. A+ for execution and customer friendly style! Just wanted you to know a lot of folks, including myself, think very highly of you and the quality work that you do.
Greg
Database Analyst
Hawaiian Electric
I just wanted to drop a note to say how much I appreciated his help with a current project we’re in the middle of (ProjectWise). He was only supposed to be Greg’s backup but since Greg was out for the day I asked him a simple question to which he took time and care in giving me a complete picture of not only answering my question, but also performing the work that I was going to wait until when Greg got back to perform. He then took it even further when Greg got back as he helped us during the days of the preparation and took ownership on the issues we were facing and provided expert knowledge in overcoming the issues.
I really enjoyed working with him as he was courteous, professional, knowledgeable, and helpful all throughout the engagement. I am impressed that you have such an outstanding individual as a part of your team.
LANCE
IT Program Manager
Hawaiian Electric
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