My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Hawaii
The Quick Version :
I believe I was retaliated against for repeatedly complaining about illegal practices within the restaurant to the owner and my supervisor. I was terminated via an MMS message from the owner two days after I clocked out, as previously directed by my supervisor. I had been a valued full time employee, and was promised my own dinner shift and better pay by mid-June if I were to stay along during which time I would work as a breakfast/lunch cook. I agreed and stayed along. Please understand I was personal friends with the two people I've mentioned. I have nothing in writing except text messages regarding the dinner position, though everyone in the company was aware that I was to become the dinner chef.
The laws I complained of were as follows, in brief : child labor, fair wages, overtime, HIOSH, HACCP, tip allocation, nepotism, possible sex discrimination, retaliation, Department of Health violations, non-compliance of mandatory health insurance, and promissory estoppel regarding my recent severance. Their bookkeeper (my supervisor, the owner's girlfriend, whom is absolutely unqualified and just turned 24) giggled when she told me that the local IRS Commissioner was there buying coffee and she hadn't filed any taxes in three years, if that's even possible.
They appear to have less than 15 employees. My educated guess is that they make more than $500,000.00 a year. They export small amounts of perishable goods to other states. I have filed complaints with the Departments of Labor and Health. I am owed unpaid overtime, as are other employees.
Question : do I have a retaliation/wrongful termination case? Or anything else to prevent them from continuing on in this way?
Other Info :
The dinner shift promise was made around six months prior to my termination. I was promoted twice and worked hard for them. In August, I slipped and hurt my back outside of work. I requested a day off because I could not perform at work. The owner told me to take several more days off than I thought I needed, and told me I would need a doctor's clearance to come back. I reminded him that I had been working full time and that he had agreed to "look into" adding me to their insurance policy. I did not have the money to spend at a hospital when it was uncertain to me as to when I would be back at work, making money. I made this clear to him.
After a week, he agreed to let me come back to work, without a doctor's note. Without any warning whatsoever, I was told at the end of my first shift back that I had permanently lost my two best shifts, and that the remaining shifts were to be altered as well. This was a very hard blow to me.
I continued to work, and adjusted to the owner's wish that I provide training to the new hires, whom were in abundance and a direct result of preparing for extended business hours (for dinner). Each day that the owner over-staffed the restaurant, I was one of two people to be sent home early, and was directed by my manager to clock out once the new hires "seemed like they had everything under control". On a particularly low-sales Saturday, I checked with all my co-workers as to their comfort level with my leaving early, they all agreed, and I clocked out.
There has never, in any way, been a written or online schedule or system. The owner and supervisor message or call each employee each week/day or sometimes forget to schedule people in their minds at all. I was never scheduled to leave at any particular time, though I had made a habit of showing up as per requested of my first shift back, which was 8 AM.
The owner's son was also a cook, like me, but made about five dollars more an hour than me, and was still busy making a giant lasagna when I was already done with my specific duties. He was aware of my intent to leave, but waited until after I had clocked out to express that he had wanted to leave first, and I reminded him that we were so over-staffed that there were, in fact, people standing around getting paid, with nothing to do. He parties excessively and DJ's at rave type events, posting pictures on FB of himself drinking hard liquor only three hours before he is at work, using knives and fire around co-workers that are often under 18 years old.
The owner's son called his father and complained that I was leaving, and hid in a corner of the kitchen while he presumably lied about the circumstances.
The next day, I asked the owner if everything was ok. A day later he sent me an MMS message (which expires after 7 days coincidentally), stating that he was sad that he had to let me go, but that he needed someone he could depend on. Be it a misunderstanding on their or my part, this was the first time I had done anything they were not happy with.
I have gone completely broke whilst awaiting the promised arrival of the dinner shift and my guaranteed promotion. I believe that the closeness in time between my complaining, my injury, my pay cut, and the termination of not just my job but also of the promise I had been so devoted to, constitutes an unjust and detrimental effect on my well-being, financially and emotionally.
I applied for emergency food assistance, and because I had, within the last 60 days, become separated from employment, it was my burden to produce the owner's statement as to why I was no longer there (form 12-66 Dept of Human Services HI), which meant that I was now begging this callous man to comply with the department's request. He did not comply. I waited more than 11 days, and finally had their request overridden by my own personal statement, as per council from a kind woman at the Governor's Office. No, I do not have other resources. I didn't eat much for about ten days, and lost almost 13 pounds. I still don't feel recovered. And the owner actually sent me an antagonistic and rather cruel message regarding his non-compliance with the department's request a couple days ago.
This business has been doing considerably awful things to its employees for more than 25 years. The owner is lewd and childish, his girlfriend is incompetent, and his son is a drug addict (a hazard) working around minors. Sorry but WTF

I agree, if you would have records in the past of these complaints maybe they would work on your behalf. unfortunately you have no documentation supporting your claims therefore I think you have a difficult task ahead, but never the less this is America and you have a right to due process.these are mostly all opinions given to you and not law therefore the best thing to do is contact a labor law and try to keep your complaint short and direct cause for the most part its human nature to stop listening after 300 characters and just hearing you go on, no fun intended. good luck.
