Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2788 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow parties to an unemployment appeal to file their appeals directly with the Employment Security Appeals Referee's Office (ESARO).

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and ILWU Local 142 testified in support of this measure.

Currently, parties have to file appeals of unemployment insurance (UI) determinations in the UI office in their county of residence or the county of their last employment. The eight UI offices in the various counties then forward the appeals to ESARO.

Allowing parties to file their appeals directly to ESARO, in addition to the UI offices, will facilitate the filing of appeals and result in speedier adjudication of unemployment appeals.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2788 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.