Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 55 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the provision of a rest or meal period of at least thirty consecutive minutes for an employee who works five or more continuous hours, unless a collective bargaining agreement provides an express provision for meal breaks.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Education, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the United Public Workers, the ILWU Local 142, and an individual.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Hawaii Business League, the Society for Human Resource Management - Hawaii Chapter, and the Retail Merchants of Hawaii.

Comments on this measure were also submitted by Covanta Energy Group and the Hawaii Transportation Association.

Your Committee finds that pursuant to Act 172, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1999, the Legislature provided for the right to employees to express breastmilk during a meal period or other break. Specifically, Act 172, SLH 1999 provided that an employee could not be prohibited from expressing breastmilk during any meal or other break required by law. However, your Committee further finds that neither federal nor state wage and hour laws currently require an employer to provide employees over the age of sixteen a meal period irrespective of the number of consecutive hours employees work.

Therefore, your Committee determines that employees who work more than five consecutive hours should be provided at least a thirty-minute meal break, which will safeguard the health and safety of employees, promote work efficiency and productivity, and permit employees to express breastmilk during any meal break. Furthermore, your Committee believes that this provision should not be applicable if a collective bargaining agreement already provides for meal breaks or under certain other circumstances.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

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. 55, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 55, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.