STAND. COM. REP. NO.  696-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

RE:   S.B. No. 2323

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2323 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to assist unemployed individuals who do not have Internet access or are unfamiliar with conventions of the Internet by prohibiting the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) from requiring individuals to register their availability to work online.

     The ILWU Local 142 and Hawaii Government Employees Association testified in support of this bill.  DLIR provided comments.

     Under current law, claimants for unemployment insurance benefits are required to post job availability information that includes, among other things:

     (1)  The claimant's name;

     (2)  Job skills;

     (3)  Education;

     (4)  Training;

     (5)  Prior employment history; and

     (6)  Other relevant occupational information.

     This "online resume" is intended to serve as a tool for helping claimants seek new employment.  However, it also poses a disadvantage to claimants who do not have Internet access or are unfamiliar with using the Internet, and may result in these claimants not receiving unemployment benefits in a timely manner.

     However, your Committee does note the concerns raised by DLIR with the provisions contained in this measure, particularly with the provision deleting the requirement for a partially unemployed individual to register for work to be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits.  Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by deleting its contents and replacing it with the contents of H.B. No. 2202, H.D. 1.  As amended, this bill requires DLIR to either:

     (A)  Allow an individual to post the required information independently on the department's Internet job-matching system; or

     (B)  Accept relevant occupational information provided by the individual on a document prescribed by the department, and enter the necessary information on the department's Internet job-matching system for the individual.

     Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

     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. 2323, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2323, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Economic Revitalization, Business, & Military Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair