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 S.B. No. 535, S.D. 2, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to prohibit an employer or labor organization from discriminating against an employee who uses accrued and available sick leave in accordance with a negotiated attendance policy.

The Hawaii State AFL-CIO, United Public Workers, Hawaii State Association of Electrical Workers, ILWU Local 142, and Hawaii State Teachers Association testified in support of this bill. The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Society for Human Resource Management-Hawaii Chapter, Verizon Hawaii, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health, GEICO, Hawaii Business Roundtable, The Gas Company, Hawaii Credit Union League, Hawaii Federal Credit Union, Production Hawaii, Inc., Integration Technologies, Inc., Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., and Maui Electric Company, Ltd., testified in opposition to this measure. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Human Resources Development, and Hawaii Civil Rights Commission submitted comments.

Your Committee notes that although many employers currently offer sick leave benefits, no public policy, either via statute, rule, or regulation, exists to protect the legitimate use of sick leave.

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 S.B. No. 535, S.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.