On April 12, the Hawaii State Senate voted to confirm Scott T. Murakami as the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (“DLIR”) and Leonard Hoshijo as the Deputy Director.  Murakami is the 20th Director of the DLIR.

Murakami joins the Ige administration from the University of Hawaiʻi where he has held a variety of leadership positions.  Most recently, he was the Director of Workforce Development in the Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges and before that the Director of the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training at Honolulu Community College.  Murakami holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology, and master’s degrees in business administration and accounting from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

“I am grateful to Governor Ige for his trust in me to lead the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and I thank the Senate for their vote of confidence today,” said Murakami. “I look forward to working alongside the men and women of the department as we work to modernize and make a positive contribution to improving the resilience of Hawaii’s economy in the global marketplace and strengthen Hawaii’s economic safety net.”

Hoshijo has been at the DLIR as Director and Deputy Director since 2015. Before joining the DLIR, he served in various roles with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters.

Source:   DLIR news release