STAND. COM. REP. NO. 108

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1148
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor and Environment, to which was
referred S.B. No. 1148 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY APPEALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow the Department of
Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to provide in its rules for
the taking of depositions in unemployment compensation appeals
procedures.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the DLIR.

     This is an administration measure intended in practical
application to enable the Employment Security Appeals Referee
Office (ESARO) to hold a single hearing by phone, or other
suitable method, with all parties present.  Under current law,
the ESARO must conduct a split hearing if one of the parties is
at a different location from the other party.  This has been held
by a California Court of Appeals case to be insufficient to
afford an adequate adversarial hearing.  This measure would allow
depositions that afford an adversarial procedure in lieu of
simultaneous presence of the parties at the same hearing if that
is not possible.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Labor and Environment that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 108
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of S.B. No. 1148 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and
be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Labor and
                                   Environment,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BOB NAKATA, Chair

 
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