STAND. COM. REP. NO. 37
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: H.B. No. 246
H.D. 1
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 and Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 246 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EQUAL PAY,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to promote fairness and equality in the workplace by:
(1) Prohibiting discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender by paying wages to an employee at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee of the opposite sex for equal work;
(2) Providing for exceptions for differences in wages only in situations that are based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, a bona fide occupational qualification, or a differential based on any permissible factor other than sex; and
(3) Establishing a Pay Equity Task Force (Task Force) to review any relevant information and to make any recommendation for funds or specific actions needed to correct any gender-based pay inequities.
The Hawaii State AFL-CIO, United Public Workers, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Life of the Land, Hawaii Women's Coalition, and a concerned individual testified in support of this measure. The Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) supported the intent of the measure but expressed concerns. The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and Society for Human Resource Management-Hawaii Chapter testified in opposition to this bill. The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission commented on the measure.
Your Committee finds that the State of Hawaii has a long and distinguished history of supporting civil rights and equality in the workplace. Hawaii was the first state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and has been a leader in establishing constitutional and statutory protections for equal treatment of men and women. Despite both federal and state legislation banning discrimination in employment and pay in both the public and private sector, wage differentials continue to persist between men and women. Your Committee finds that a wage differential based purely on the gender of an employee does not constitute fair and equitable treatment and results in numerous difficulties for Hawaii's working citizens.
However, your Committee understands DHRD's concerns regarding the timeliness of reviewing outdated studies without inclusion of more recent and pertinent information, as well as the appropriateness of including the department director in the Task Force given DHRD's limited scope of authority. Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Replacing the Director of DHRD on the Task Force with the Director of the DLIR;
(2) Requiring the Task Force to determine the current extent and trend of gender-based pay inequities in the State of Hawaii;
(3) Clarifying that, along with conducting its review of wage equity studies from 1995 and 1987, the Task Force should also consider any other data and information pertinent to the accomplishment of its purpose; and
(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.
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. 246, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 246, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employment,
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____________________________ KIRK CALDWELL, Chair |
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