STAND. COM. REP. NO. 431-04
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: H.B. No. 880
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2004
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 880 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to expand the prohibition against stress-related claims for workers' compensation to include all lawful personnel actions.
The Administration has proposed an omnibus bill intended to reform Hawaii's workers' compensation system. That measure, H.B. No. 2486, contains nine separate components pertaining to:
(1) Managed care and limits on palliative care;
(2) Exemptions for limited liability corporations, limited liability partnerships, partnerships, and sole proprietorships;
(3) "Maximum medical improvement" and limits on coverage;
(4) Mental stress claims;
(5) Employer-designated health care providers;
(6) Emergency care;
(7) Vocational rehabilitation;
(8) Arbitration; and
(9) Fraud.
To facilitate the thorough review of the exception of certain entities from the workers' compensation law, a proposed house draft reflecting the deletion of the current contents of H.B. No. 880 and the insertion of new language pertaining to each of the components found in House Bill No. 2486 was heard for purposes of receiving testimony and public comment.
The proposed new contents for House Bill No. 880 would exclude from the definition of "employment" under the Workers' Compensation Law any individual who:
(1) Has a distributional interest of at least fifty percent in a limited liability company;
(2) Is a partner with transferable interest of at least fifty percent in a limited liability partnership;
(3) Is a partner of a partnership; or
(4) Is a sole proprietor.
The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii Association of Realtors, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Society for Human Resource Management, Hawaii Chapter, National Federation of Independent Business, American Physical Therapy Association Hawaii Chapter, Altres, and a concerned individual testified in support of this measure. Retail Merchants of Hawaii supported the intent of the bill.
ILWU Local 142, Laborers' International Union of North America Local 368, AFL-CIO, United Public Workers/AFSME, Local 646, AFL-CIO, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Hawaii State AFL-CIO opposed this bill.
After careful consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Inserting the provisions of the proposed House Draft; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive revisions for purposes of clarity, style, and conformity.
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 H.B. No. 880, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 880,
H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employment,
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____________________________ MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair |
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