STAND. COM. REP. NO. 703

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 728

       S.D. 2

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 728, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require equal pay for men and women who do similar work under certain government contracts.

More specifically, this measure establishes requirements for government contacts with a value in excess of $25,000 that:

(1)  Require contractors and subcontractors to pay equal wages or salaries for equal work, regardless of employee gender;

(2)  Prohibit government contractors from discriminating or retaliating against or discharging employees for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing wage information; and

(3)  Require contractors to report to the governmental contracting agency all wages paid to its employees, categorized by gender.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and one individual.  The General Contractors Association of Hawaii submitted written comments on this measure.

     Your Committee notes that in 2013, full-time, year-round female employees earned 78.3 percent of the wages earned by their male counterparts.  Your Committee finds that women in the workplace often stay silent about unequal compensation due to fears of retaliation by their employer.

Your Committee also finds that the federal government and other states have enacted laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination against or discharge of government contract employees who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of another.  One of these regulations is federal Executive Order 13665, which suggests that compensation discrimination is more likely to persist when employees are prohibited from inquiring about, disclosing, or discussing their compensation with fellow workers.  Thus, gender compensation discrimination is less likely to occur when employees are free to discuss and reveal issues of unequal compensation between women and men.  Your Committee believes that more can be done in Hawaii to encourage wage equity and prevent gender discrimination on state government contracts.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion.

     Your Committee requests that, as this measure progresses through the legislative session, the Department of Accounting and General Services consider presenting proposed amendments to chapters 103 and 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to the relevant Standing Committees, to address the implementation and enforcement issues raised in the Department's written comments.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 728, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 728, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair