Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 931 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to entitle victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking to paid or unpaid employment leave.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The First Unitarian Church, the Hawaii Women Lawyers, the Community Alliance on Prisons, and a private citizen.

Testimony in support of the intent of this measure was submitted by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Your Committee finds that 25-50 per cent of domestic violence victims surveyed in three studies reported that they lost a job due, at least in part, to domestic violence, according to a 1998 report of the U.S. General Accounting Office. Almost 50 per cent of sexual assault survivors lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of the crime. More than 25 per cent of stalking victims report losing time from work due to stalking and 7 per cent never return to work as a result of the stalking.

Your Committee also finds that emergency leave is critical for survivors to address the violence in their lives. Employees who have been victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, including individuals participating in welfare-to-work programs, may need to take time during business hours to obtain orders for protection; seek medical or legal assistance, counseling, or other services; or look for shelter or housing in order to escape from violence.

Therefore, your Committee determines that victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and stalking should be allowed to take unpaid leave from employment to address issues that stem from such violence or abuse.

Your Committee has amended this measure to create a new part in Chapter 378, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to Victims Leave and made several technical, non-substantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.

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. 931, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 931, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.