WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services contracts with individual social care providers, including corporations, to perform attendant care and day care services authorized by the Department of Human Services under the Social Security Act, as amended; and

WHEREAS, under the Department of Human Services' contracts, these individual social care providers are the recipients of social service payments; and

WHEREAS, these individual social care providers subcontract with or employ individuals to provide attendant care and day care services authorized by the Department of Human Services under the Social Security Act, as amended; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's Temporary Disability Insurance Law, pursuant to section 392-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides that "employment" shall not include services that are "[d]omestic, which includes attendant care, and day care services authorized by the department of human services under the Social Security Act, as amended, performed by an individual in the employ of a recipient of social service payments"; and

WHEREAS, in enacting these "domestic" exemptions, the Legislature of the State of Hawaii found in 1978 that: "if the specific exemptions to the State's wage loss replacement and employment insurance programs are not adopted, the attendant care-chore services and in-home child care service payments must be adjusted to include the recipient/employer's contribution to the following programs: State Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB); State Worker's Compensation (WC); State Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI); and Prepaid Health Insurance (PPHI)"; and

WHEREAS, the "domestic" exemption is not included in the current Hawaii Employment Security Law; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature intended the "domestic" exemption to be included in the Hawaii Employment Security Law; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii does not wish to, and it was the intent of the Legislature not to, increase the social service payments to these individual social care providers to include the providers' contributions to state unemployment insurance benefits, state workers' compensation, state temporary disability insurance, and prepaid health care insurance; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature wishes to clarify its intent to consider these individual social care providers as recipients of social service payments under their contracts with the Department of Human Services and not employees, and that they are exempt under the Workers' Compensation Law, the Temporary Disability Law, and the Prepaid Health Care Law; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that this body wishes to clarify and declares its intention to treat all individual social care providers who contract with the Department of Human Services to perform attendant care and day care services authorized by the Department of Human Services under the Social Security Act, as amended, as recipients of social service payments described in the "domestic" exemptions under the relevant sections of the Hawaii Workers' Compensation law, Temporary Disability Law, and Prepaid Health Care Law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Directors of Human Services and Labor and Industrial Relations.

Report Title:

Individual Social Care Providers; Not Employees