STAND. COM. REP. NO.  236

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   H.B. No. 884

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Economic Revitalization & Business, to which was referred H.B. No. 884 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY LEAVE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to allow family leave time to be used to care for a sibling.

     The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO testified in support of this bill.  The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and a concerned individual provided comments.

     Your Committees recognize that Hawaii has a rich tradition in caring for family.  In some situations, a person may only have a sibling who can provide care during illness.  Hawaii's family leave law currently entitles an employee to use family leave to care for a child, spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, or a parent.  Your Committees believe it is reasonable to expand the law to also allow family leave time to be used to care for a sibling.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by defining "sibling" to mean a biological or adoptive brother or sister.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Economic Revitalization & Business that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 884, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 884, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Economic Revitalization & Business,

____________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair

____________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair