RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, county refuse collection workers provide an essential service to the State by removing refuse from our community that can cause health and safety problems if not transported to designated refuse areas; and

WHEREAS, by the very nature of their occupation, county refuse collection workers are in constant direct and indirect contact with transported refuse; and

WHEREAS, whether the contact with refuse is physical or the inhalation of toxic fumes emanating from the refuse, county refuse collection workers are at risk of both injury and illness; and

WHEREAS, this contact and risk may account for the inordinately high number of industrial injuries reported by county refuse collection workers; and

WHEREAS, the State and counties do not presently recognize the occupational risks experienced by county refuse collection workers; and

WHEREAS, other county occupations such as firefighters, police officers, and some types of investigators and water safety officers under section 88-74, Hawaii Revised Statutes, enjoy certain preferences under the state Employees' Retirement System because of related occupational risks associated with such positions; and

WHEREAS, the risks associated with these occupations may be comparable to the risks experienced by county refuse collection workers; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Department of Health are requested to conduct a study relating to the occupational and health risks of refuse collection workers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to act as the lead department for the purposes of this study; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Administrator of the Employees' Retirement System is requested to assist the Departments of Labor and Industrial Relations and Health in the preparation of the study; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments are requested to compare the occupational risks associated with county refuse collection workers with those of other county occupations including firefighters, police officers, and certain investigators and water safety officers as specified under section 88-74, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study recommend whether county refuse collection workers should enjoy the same retirement preferences as those occupations under section 88-74, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments of Labor and Industrial Relations and Health are requested to submit their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Director of Health, and the Administrator of the Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii.

Report Title:

County Refuse Collection Workers; ERS