STAND. COM. REP. NO.  363-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   H.B. No. 2010

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2010 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SPECIAL MINIMUM WAGES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure, as received by your Committee, is to require, rather than authorize, the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to adopt rules establishing standards and requirements for the employment of learners, apprentices, part-time employees who are full-time students attending public or private schools other than post-secondary schools, paroled wards of Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, and handicapped workers.

     For the purposes of a public hearing on this bill, your Committee circulated H.B. No. 2010, H.D. 1 (Proposed Draft), and notified the public that it would be accepting testimony on the Proposed Draft, which requires the DLIR to approve First Job Training Programs (Programs).

The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, the Hawaii Food Industry Association and the Hawaii Restaurant Association testified in support of the Proposed Draft.  DLIR provided comments.

     Your Committee considered the merits of both H.B. No. 2010, as received by your Committee, and the Proposed Draft and, upon careful consideration, adopted the Proposed Draft.  Your Committee further amended the Proposed Draft by:

     (1)  Providing that the Programs apply only to first-time hires;

     (2)  Deleting the requirement that the Programs provide participants with a robust and well-rounded experience aimed at developing strong work ethic, positive attitude, good communication skills, time management abilities, problem-solving skills, the ability to function as a productive team member, self-confidence, constructive criticism, flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to work under pressure;

     (3)  Authorizing, rather than requiring, that employers offer full-time employment to graduates of the Programs;

     (4)  Requiring that employers evaluate the performance of all participants; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     Your Committee notes that although it removed the requirement that the Programs provide the experience described above, it was the Committee's intent that the experience be provided to participants.

     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 H.B. No. 2010, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2010, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair