Requires work breaks for housekeeping room attendants.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Section 387-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§387-3 Maximum hours. (a) No employer shall, except as otherwise provided in this section, employ any employee for a workweek longer than forty hours unless the employee receives overtime compensation for the employee's employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which the employee is employed.

For the purposes of this section,

(b) The regular rate of an employee who is employed on a salary shall be computed as follows:

(c) The regular rate of an employee who is employed on a salary and in addition receives other wages such as, but not limited to, commissions, bonus, piecework pay, and hourly or daily pay shall be computed in the manner provided in this subsection. As used hereinabove, the term "other wages" shall not include the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities.

(d) The regular rate of an employee whose compensation is based on other than salary shall be computed in the manner provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (c). The reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, if furnished to the employee, shall be included in computing the employee's regular rate. Such an employee shall receive overtime compensation for such employment in excess of forty hours in a workweek at a rate not less than one-half times the employee's regular rate.

(e) An employer,

shall not be required to pay overtime compensation for hours in excess of forty in a workweek to any of the employer's employees during any of twenty different workweeks, as selected by the employer, in any yearly period commencing July 1, for employment in any place where the employer is so engaged. The employer, however, shall pay overtime compensation for such employment in excess of forty-eight hours in any such exempt workweek at the rate and in the manner provided in subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d), whichever is applicable, except that the word "forty-eight" shall be substituted for the word "forty" wherever it appears in subsections (b), (c), and (d).

(f) No employer shall employ any employee in split shifts unless all of the shifts within a period of twenty-four hours fall within a period of fourteen consecutive hours, except in case of extraordinary emergency.

(g) This section shall not apply to any overtime hours worked by an employee of an air carrier subject to Title II of the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. section 181 et seq.; provided such overtime hours are the result of a voluntary agreement between employees to exchange work time or days off.

(h) An employer who operates an establishment subject to the transient accommodations tax and employs housekeeping room attendants shall provide, at a minimum, one paid thirty-minute and two paid fifteen-minute breaks for each eight-hour shift that the housekeeping room attendant works. The employer may not require any housekeeping room attendant to work during a break period. The employer is responsible for providing a clean and comfortable room with adequate seating and drinking water free of charge in which the housekeeping room attendants can take their breaks.

The meal break shall consist of thirty consecutive minutes from the time the housekeeping room attendant sits down for the meal and shall not include the time required to walk to the cafeteria and back to the housekeeping room attendant's work station. The meal break shall be taken as close to the middle of the work shift as is reasonable, but in no case after more than five hours of work.

The two rest breaks shall consist of fifteen consecutive minutes of rest from the time the housekeeping room attendant is allowed to sit in the rest room.

The minimum break period in this subsection applies to all housekeeping room attendants employed in the State, whether represented by a collective bargaining agreement or not. This subsection shall not be construed to preclude additional or longer breaks or breaks for shorter shifts.

Each employer of housekeeping room attendants shall keep a complete and accurate record of its employees' breaks. This subsection shall be enforced by the department.

For any violation of this subsection, the employer shall be required to pay the employee triple wages for any break period missed.

In any action brought under this subsection, it shall be unlawful for the employer to retaliate against the employee. For a civil action brought under this subsection, a rebuttable presumption of retaliation shall arise when the employee establishes that the allegation was made in good faith that the employer was not acting in compliance with the law and that the employee was thereafter terminated, demoted, or otherwise disciplined or penalized.

An employee claiming a violation of this subsection shall be entitled to all remedies available under law and in equity, including but not limited to damages, back pay, reinstatement, or injunctive relief. An employee terminated in violation of this subsection shall recover treble the employee's normal daily compensation and fringe benefits, including interest from the date of termination, and any consequential damages suffered by the employee. The court shall award attorney's fees and costs to an employee who prevails in an enforcement action under this subsection.

For the purposes of this subsection, a "housekeeping room attendant" means a person who cleans and puts in order guest rooms in a hotel, resort, or other establishment subject to the transient accommodations tax."

SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.