Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 446 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify that services performed by students who are employed by a school, university, or college during any part of the calendar year are excluded from unemployment benefits.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the University of Hawaii and the Commission on the Status of Women. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations testified in opposition to the measure. The ILWU and two individuals submitted comments on the measure.

Your Committee finds that a dispute exists between the University of Hawaii and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations over the interpretation of section 383-7(9)(B), Hawaii Revised Statutes, which excludes services performed by students for a school, college, or university from unemployment benefits as long as the services are performed by "a student who is enrolled and regularly attending classes at such school, college, or university."

The University has historically interpreted this to mean that as long as the student is planning to enroll in the subsequent semester, then the services performed by the student are excluded from unemployment benefits.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations contends that the exclusion only applies when the student is actually enrolled in classes at the time services are being rendered. Otherwise, the work performed by the student is subject to the unemployment benefits law.

Your Committee believes that clarification of the exclusion for student services is necessary in order to ensure equitable application of the unemployment benefits law. However, your Committee has also been made aware of a pressing problem that exists on the island of Kauai regarding dislocated Amfac Sugar Kauai workers.

Your Committee finds that last year, Amfac Sugar Kauai closed down operations and many of the former employees of Amfac Sugar Kauai who were laid off still have not found employment elsewhere. Unfortunately, little opportunity exists for many former Amfac Sugar Kauai employees due to the lack of training in professions outside of sugar-related vocations. Although able to collect unemployment benefits for six months after being laid off, many of these dislocated workers need more time to be retrained so that they may re-enter the workforce in other fields.

In light of this finding, your Committee has amended the measure by adding provisions which extend the unemployment benefits of dislocated Amfac Kauai Sugar workers for an additional six months and appropriate funds for this purpose.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 446, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 446, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.