HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	48
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the department of labor and industrial relations to take stronger action to stop wage theft in hawaii.

     WHEREAS, employees are the backbone of Hawaii's economy; and

     WHEREAS, many of Hawaii's employees earn the minimum wage and must work several jobs to make a living; and

     WHEREAS, wage theft, which consists of pay-related violations by employers, has emerged as a major economic justice issue in the last decade; and

     WHEREAS, wage theft harms workers and their families by depriving them of hard-earned wages; and

     WHEREAS, ethical employers are placed at an economic disadvantage by unscrupulous employers who engage in the practice of wage theft; and

     WHEREAS, wage theft slows down the economic recovery by depressing consumer spending and fraudulently depriving states and taxpayers of millions of dollars in lost tax revenue and lost income; and

     WHEREAS, many states are addressing this issue by taking affirmative steps to better protect employees' rights; and

     WHEREAS, in 2011, Hawaii agreed to work with the United States Department of Labor to share information in an effort to address the wage theft problem; and

     WHEREAS, in 2012, Progressive States Network reported that Hawaii, as well as many other states, received a failing grade in preventing wage theft; now, therefore,
     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is urged to make fighting wage theft a priority; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Wage Theft; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations