Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1449 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to amend the formula used to calculate average weekly wages for workers' compensation claims for airline pilots and flight attendants. This bill clarifies that airline pilots or flight attendants shall be entitled to workers' compensation benefits based on the actual hours worked during the previous 52-week period or portion thereof.

Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines testified in support of this measure. ILWU Local 142 testified in opposition to this bill. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations commented on this measure.

Your Committee finds that airline pilots and flight attendants currently work an average of 85 to 90 hours per month. This equates to approximately 20 to 25 hours per week. However, current law requires that airline pilots and flight attendants who are injured on the job be paid workers' compensation benefits based upon a 35-hour work week. Thus, an injured airline pilot or flight attendant could earn more money while injured than while actually working. Your Committee believes that this was never the intent of the workers' compensation law and that this measure attempts to correct this error.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1449 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.