There are companies on the mainland who have branches in Hawaii who may be practicing legal hiring in other parts of the country but in Hawaii – they are perpetuating discriminatory practices and have no qualms about asking illegal questions to applicants applying for jobs.
Geico is one company that operates in Hawaii and recruits for customer service representatives. However, on their online application they ask for the “age” of the applicant. This is truly ironic because on Geico TV commercials they have a senior citizen squaring off with the green gecko. In the September/October 2009 AARP magazine, Geico has a large ad asking for business from senior citizens. Why, then do they ask potential applicants, their age on their online application? If you put in certain ages and you put in the wrong answer (over 50) on your application it disappears into a sink hole.
Another agency, Goodwill Industries of Hawaii uses an evaluation form which they send former employers that allow employers to rate your performance. Instead of asking the legal questions, dates you were employed or would the company hire the ex-employee again – they have a complete employee evaluation of abilities, temperament and qualities. The ex-employer is asked to rate candidates using a scale average, above average, good or poor. The ex-employee is asked to waive their right to challenge any statements and to swear not to hold former employers liable for completing the form.
Human resource laws supposedly are in place for the protection of all employees and potential employees. All U.S. states have hiring laws and regardless of those laws discrimination in hiring continues to be at the forefront of community debates. Hawaii appears to be the exception with no community debates on the issue.
That’s right; no one talks about the discriminatory practices in Hawaii. In interviews and on paper discrimination in HR practices is illegal but unless a potential employee speaks up, there are no challenges to the inequality. Also, it is not easy not to speak up because it could cost you the job (that you were probably not going to get anyway).
In the State of Hawaii, as with other places, employers hire who they want to hire regardless of the law. In fact, the laws seem to be only for show and tell in the event there is a challenge by someone who feels they have been discriminated against.
HR in Hawaii appears to be more of a family matter, who you know, who knows you, what minority are you or are you the right minority if you want a job in Hawaii. Mainland companies with branches in the islands could very well remove the “equal opportunity statements” in their advertisements and substitute “equal opportunities for certain people.”
African Americans make up less than 3% of the population in Hawaii. Their employment outlook is grim. A large number of African Americans are in the military, others have blue collar positions but many are unemployed. In October 2009, the local chapter of the NAACP received eighteen employment violation complaints from African Americans.
If you asked any local person if they discriminate against other races they will absolutely deny it and point to the diverse culture of the islands. However, if you take a closer look you can see discrimination happening on a daily basis between the races, the military personnel and locals.
The state goes to great lengths to show the beauty of Hawaii but the underlying politics, racism and prejudices make Hawaii one of the most hypocritical places for African Americans to travel to or live. No one is immune to racial discrimination including President Obama who was born in Hawaii.
Mainland companies who support flawed hiring practices and practice discrimination in Hawaii should re-evaluate their equal opportunity policies and support equal opportunity for all or remove the statements from all their employment advertisements.
Coming soon – list of mainland companies with branches in Hawaii that fail the equal opportunity test in hiring (poll in progress)
Sources
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states...
www.foxnews.com/wires/2008May19/0,4670/ObamaHawaiBlacks
(In Multi-racial Hawaii, Obama Faced Discrimination)
www.afgen.com/hawaii.html (Lingering racism targets blacks in Hawaiian Islands)
NAACP Activity Report, October 2009
ww.examiner.com/x27741-waianae-coast-cultural-examiner
Comments
WOW! Geico? J., are you serious? I love those Geico commercials. Humm...this is definitely something to ponder and further investigate.
I agree 100% with your findings, one need to break down the statistics to find who is at the bottom of the totem pole. I still can't beleive the Goodwill is on this list. Not to mention Black people issues are irrelevant on this island, it's almost like we don't exist.
Racism is a problem in Hawaii. Diversity in the workplace is a code word for [Asian only] ethnicities. I am white and married to an Asian woman from the mainland. She is in real estate and sees the hatred, particularly toward military, blacks, and whites from the US. I have lived here for 10 years and been unable to find a job for over a year, even with a Masters degree.
Goodwill Industries of Hawaii follows legitimate and legal business processes in its hiring practices. The accusations made in this article are false and need to be immediately removed from this site. Failure to do so will result in further action.
Regarding Goodwill Industries in Hawaii. I would never report on a company that I had not personally had an experience with. I have copies of their application form with the evaluation questions on it as well as "they" have copies of my application on file where I took exception to the fact that they could ask these type of questions to my former employers. In fact, I asked on my application for a copy of the report from my former employers. The Goodwill application says I will not hold the former employer liable for anything they say about me. I keep copies of everything that I submit when I am looking for a job. As for the interview, which I had with Goodwill Industries, the questions asked me were illegal, intrusive and showed a lack of training on the part of the interviewers and that is my personal opinion.
Andy, I hear you. I have talked with many blacks on this island and they say the same thing. I did finally get a job but it was with a company founded by a guy from Southern, CA. A group of African-Americans are now in the process of forming a non-profit organization to help blacks here in Hawaii achieve employment equality. Stay tuned. I will report on the organization when they are up and running which should be in January 2010.
Evette, I was surprised also. I have supported Goodwill Industries in California for many, many years. I also admire their prison program for ex-offenders in the mid-west but when I came to Hawaii I found something totally unexpected in their hiring practices.
D Wilkerson
I am hoping that is a practice only common to Hawaii, which seems to promote a selected ethnic minority climate.
Andy, I understand the new organization will not be limited to employment equality just for blacks but for any one who face discrimination in employment.
I think racism is alive and well on the islands. Don't let the "multi cultural" surface obscure the rampant prejudice against those labeled as "others." This category includes so called haoles and blacks.
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