Decision to oust HTA president ‘mutual’
HONOLULU — The decision to fire president and CEO George Szigeti was “mutual,” said the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s former chief.
“I’ll be taking a deep breath. I haven’t been able to do that in three years,” Szigeti said. “This team has really accomplished a lot; 2016 and 2017 were supposed to be flat to down. Instead we hit all the numbers.”
The HTA board decided “to go in a new direction,” said chairman Rick Fried.
“One of the major reasons that we are doing this is the difficulty in the current political climate and the difficulty in keeping our budget through the Senate,” Fried said. “There also was some concern from some of the stakeholders in the broader tourism industry — although some were fine with him — about his institutional knowledge of tourism.”
The agency’s board agreed to pay Szigeti six months of pay after he leaves the job Oct. 31.
The severance payment was outlined in Szigeti’s contract, which was to run through 2020. His annual salary is nearly $300,000.
“The challenge for the next CEO will be how to balance the numbers with managing the destination,” Szigeti said.
The state Legislature cut $13 million from the authority’s budget last month. Other authority executives resigned in recent months, and Gov. David Ige withdrew his nomination to reappoint Fried to HTA board chairman.
The authority’s administrative committee intends to start talks this week on finding a new agency leader, Fried said. It plans to form a selection committee that will include board members and stakeholders.
Federal agency sues Hawaii health insurance provider
HONOLULU — A federal civil rights agency filed a lawsuit against one of Hawaii’s largest health insurance providers, claiming it discriminated against a group of disabled workers.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims the Hawaii Medical Service Association denied occasional leave for medical treatment to employees with disabilities without offering other options — violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
The provider changed its policy in late 2013, forcing employees to work without the accommodations or to resign, according to the suit filed Thursday in federal court.
“HMSA complies fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act and its requirement for reasonable accommodation for employees covered by the ADA,” said Elisa Yadao, senior vice president for HMSA.
The provider did not have further comment as it has not yet been served the suit Thursday, Yadao said in the statement.
Marline Reyes, who worked as a customer relations representative in the provider’s Hilo call center, was previously given up to four days off per month for medical appointments. When the new policy went into effect in early 2014, it caused Reyes “immense stress and anxiety,” according to the suit.
Reyes “felt she could no longer attend all the required medical appointments without repercussions,” the suit said.
The lawsuit seeks back pay and other damages for Reyes and other workers named in the suit.
“Blanket employment policies that negatively affect a group of individuals can be discriminatory,” said Glory Gervacio Saure, the commission’s director at the Honolulu office. “Employers should routinely audit their policies and practices to make sure they are not unlawfully discriminating against their employees.”