STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 869
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2021
RE: H.B. No. 1253
H.D. 3
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1253, H.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to prohibit an employer, with certain exemptions, from:
(1) Requiring an employee to download a mobile application to the employee's personal communication device that enables the employee's location to be tracked or their personal information revealed;
(2) Terminating or otherwise discriminating against an employee for refusing to download a mobile application to the employee's personal communication device; or
(3) Discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee for filing a complaint, testifying, or assisting in any proceeding concerning these unlawful practices.
Your Committee finds that the COVID-19 pandemic placed greater emphasis on the need for new public health tools to mitigate the spread of the virus. Mobile phone applications leveraged the capabilities of existing technology to assist public health officials in tracking the spread of the virus and warning persons that may have been potentially exposed. The new mobile applications, upon the voluntary acceptance by a mobile phone user, track devices nearby and notify the user if the user was near a person who tested positive for the virus.
Your Committee further finds that these applications have raised privacy concerns and anxiety over the potential misuse of the tracking information. This measure will prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to or taking adverse action against an employee who refuses to download a mobile application to the employee's personal communication device. However, your Committee recognizes that there may be situations where an employee consents to downloading the mobile application or the mobile application is required as a condition of employment and related to the functions of the employment position. Your Committee believes that these situations should not be prohibited under law.
Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Providing that the prohibition against unlawful practices by the employer does not apply if:
(A) The employee consents to downloading the mobile application to the employee's personal communication device; or
(B) The mobile application is required as a condition of employment and related to the functions of the employment position; 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 Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1253, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1253, H.D. 3.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair |
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