SB1126 SD2.DOC

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that flexible employment opportunities are needed to meet changing social and economic realities of life in Hawaii. For nearly twenty years, the legislature has promoted job-sharing, which allows the sharing of one full-time position by two half-time employees, as an employment option for certain state workers. Job-sharing pilot projects have been authorized for the executive branch, the judiciary, the legislative reference bureau, the office of the auditor, and the office of the ombudsman.

According to a report by the auditor on these pilot projects, job-sharing was found to be a feasible, desirable, and cost-effective work arrangement. Job-sharers have the flexibility to care for children, spend more time with their families, pursue additional education and training, and take care of other personal needs. Positive results of job-sharing include a decrease in worker turnover and absenteeism, an increase in worker productivity, and an improvement in worker morale. The auditor's report concluded with a recommendation that job-sharing be made available to all state agencies to use at their discretion.

The purpose of this Act is to authorize the executive branch, the judicial branch, the legislative reference bureau, the office of the auditor, and the office of the ombudsman to establish voluntary job-sharing programs for their permanent, full-time employees and to encourage agencies to examine appropriate uses of job-sharing as a means of improving government operations and retaining qualified employees.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"CHAPTER

JOB-SHARING

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

"Agency" means the executive branch, the University of Hawaii, the judicial branch, the legislative reference bureau, the office of the auditor, and the office of the ombudsman; provided that it shall not apply to executive agencies that have a specific statutory authorization for job-sharing.

"Director" means the director of a state department, the comptroller, the chairperson of the board of agriculture, the attorney general, the adjutant general, the superintendent of education, the chairperson of the Hawaiian homes commission, the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, the president of the University of Hawaii, the administrator of the courts, the director of the legislative reference bureau, the state auditor, and the state ombudsman.

"Job-sharing" means the voluntary sharing of a full-time, permanent employee's position by two employees, with each working of the total number of hours of work required per month, and each receiving of the salary and at least of each employee benefit afforded to a full-time employee.

§ -2 Authorization to establish job-sharing programs. Any agency may establish and administer voluntary job-sharing programs for their permanent, full-time employees; provided that sections 302A-610 and 312-7 shall apply to employees of the department of education and the public library system, respectively.

§ -3 Establishment of job-sharing program. (a) To establish a job-sharing program, a director, in consultation and agreement with the representatives of the appropriate bargaining units, shall formulate and adopt guidelines for the implementation of this chapter.

(b) The director of each agency that has established a job-sharing program shall announce the job-sharing program to all full-time, regular employees and shall solicit voluntary requests of personnel interested in participating in the program.

§ -4 Application to participate; selection; conversion. (a) Employees who respond to the announcement and others who request information shall receive a full written description of the terms of the program when the guidelines are finalized. Employees who apply for participation shall obtain the concurrence of their director, immediate supervisor, and other appropriate personnel officers.

(b) Applicants who qualify shall be interviewed by the agency's personnel officer or other appropriate individual.

(c) Upon the selection of a permanent, full-time employee for job-sharing under this chapter, the director of an agency, for the purposes of this chapter, shall convert the position of the employee into two job-sharing positions. One of these positions shall be filled by the formerly full-time employee, and the other position shall be filled by either another permanent employee or a person hired under this chapter.

§ -5 Participation. It is recommended that not more than fifty per cent of the eligible personnel at any work site be accepted to participate in the program. It is further recommended that when sufficient eligible applicants are available, not less than twenty-five per cent of the personnel at any work site be accepted to participate in the program.

§ -6 Recruitment for job-sharing positions; requirements. Persons hired to fill job-sharing positions shall be recruited in accordance with this chapter; provided that any person hired for a job-sharing position shall possess the minimum requirements of the full-time position that was converted to a job-sharing position under this chapter.

§ -7 Job-sharing program participants; employee rights and benefits. (a) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, no full-time, permanent employee shall lose membership in an employee bargaining unit because of participation in a job-sharing program authorized under this chapter. Union membership or service fees paid by job-sharers under this chapter shall be at a level consistent with normal union membership dues or service fees.

(b) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the State's contribution to a job-sharer's prepaid health, prepaid dental, and any group life insurance plans shall be the same as for full-time employees. Job-sharers shall be covered under chapters 383 and 386.

(c) Service credit for permanent employees participating in the program under this chapter shall be given on the same basis as that for full-time employees.

(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to vest any person with any rights to permanent employment status, whether under civil service or otherwise, that did not exist prior to the participation of the person in the job-sharing program.

(e) No full-time position shall be abolished or reduced to a half-time position as a result of this chapter, except for the purpose of job-sharing, and only for the time that the job-sharing position has been established.

(f) In a reduction-in-force procedure, consideration of a job-sharer's retention points shall be on the same basis as that of a full-time employee.

(g) Nothing in this chapter shall impair the employment or employment rights or benefits of any employee.

§ -8 Contractual agreement; position vacancy. (a) Participation in the job-sharing program shall require the commitment of all parties to a contractual agreement; provided that an employee shall be given the option to contract for one or more years.

(b) No job-sharing position created under this chapter and committed to for a specific period of time under the terms of the contractual agreement shall be converted to full-time status before the termination of the contractual agreement. A job-sharing vacancy created by a person's resignation, retirement, or other permanent or temporary severance of employment with an agency shall not be converted to full-time status until termination of the contractual agreement and shall be filled immediately through recruitment of another person pursuant to this chapter.

(c) Upon the termination of job-sharing contractual agreements, all job-sharing positions shall be converted to full-time positions, and the employees who held the full-time positions prior to their participation in the program shall be entitled to resume their positions without loss of any employee rights."

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2090.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1126
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII