STAND. COM. REP. NO. 150-20

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2020

RE: H.B. No. 2350

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2350 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to improve compliance with Hawaii's labor laws by updating various assessments and penalties under the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' jurisdiction, based on the Consumer Price Index.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, Pacific Resource Partnership, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the penalties contained in this measure have not been raised recently or since the enactment of the affected statutes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the equivalent of many of the penalties with inflation were often double the existing statutory amounts. According to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, most of the revised amounts of the penalties contained in this measure were derived by using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator. Your Committee believes that changes to the assessment and penalty amounts in this measure account for inflation and will improve compliance with the law.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing its effective date to January 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of 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 H.B. No. 2350, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2350, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

AARON LING JOHANSON, Chair