Requires contractors under a public contract to provide their employees with specified minimum wages and days off. Provides for enforcement and penalties. (SD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that procurement by contract of services has all too often resulted in the payment of service contractors to their employees of wages at or slightly above the minimum required by the minimum wage laws. Such minimal compensation tends to inhibit the quantity and quality of services rendered by such employees. Underpaying employees in this way fosters high turnover, absenteeism, and lackluster performance. Conversely, adequate compensation promotes amelioration of these undesirable conditions.

The purpose of this Act is to require service contractors to provide a minimum level of compensation that will improve the level of services rendered to the public.

SECTION 2. Section 103-55, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§103-55 Wages, hours, and working conditions of employees of contractors performing services. (a) Before any offeror enters into a contract to perform services in excess of $25,000 for any governmental agency, the offeror shall certify that the services to be performed will be performed under the following conditions:

Wages. The services to be rendered shall be performed by employees paid at wages or salaries not less than [the wages paid to public officers and employees for similar work.] $9.43 an hour, beginning January 1, 2002, which will thereafter be adjusted annually to correspond with any increases in the Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu region prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor which have occurred in the last twelve months ending June 30 of the year preceding.

Compensated days off. Employees shall be provided with at least twelve compensated days off per year for sick leave, vacation, or personal necessity at the employee's request. Employees shall also be provided with at least an additional ten days a year of uncompensated time to be used for sick leave for the illness of the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family where the employee has exhausted the employee's compensated days off for that year.

Compliance with labor laws. All applicable laws of the federal and state governments relating to workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, payment of wages, and safety will be fully complied with.

(b) No contract to perform services for any governmental contracting agency in excess of $25,000 shall be granted unless all the conditions of this section are met. Failure to comply with the conditions of this section during the period of contract to perform services shall result in cancellation of the contract, unless such noncompliance is corrected within a reasonable period as determined by the procurement officer. Final payment of a contract or release of bonds or both shall not be made unless the procurement officer has determined that the noncompliance has been corrected.

It shall be the duty of the governmental contracting agency awarding the contract to perform services in excess of $25,000 to enforce this section.

(c) This section shall apply to all contracts to perform services in excess of $25,000, including contracts to supply ambulance service and janitorial service.

(d) An employee claiming a violation of this section may bring an action in circuit court against a contractor and may be awarded as follows:

(e) No contract shall be written under this section with the State unless the contract provides that if the contract is breached, and the breach is not cured within ten days following written notice by the State, the State, at its option, may do any of the following:

(f) Parties subject to this section, by collective bargaining agreement, may provide that the agreement shall supersede the requirements of this section.

(g) If any provision of this section is declared legally invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and extent."

SECTION 3. During the first, third, and seventh years following the effective date of this Act, and every third year thereafter, the state director of finance shall conduct or commission an evaluation of this Act's operation and effects. The evaluation shall specifically address at least the following matters:

Within ninety days of the effective date of this Act, the state director of finance shall develop detailed plans for evaluation, including a determination of the current and future data needed for effective evaluation.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.