STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2069

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.C.R. No. 145

S.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 145, S.D. 1, entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ESTABLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING A PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE PROGRAM FOR THE STATE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to convene a working group to develop recommendations for establishing and implementing a paid Family and Medical Leave Program in the State.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Hawaiʻi State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus Commission; Office of Wellness and Resilience; Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women; Executive Office on Aging; one member of the Hawaiʻi County Council; Honolulu County Committee on the Status of Women; AARP Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Family Caregiver Coalition; Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association; Parents and Children Together; Hawaii State AFL-CIO; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Pride at Work-Hawaiʻi; Aloha United Way; Imua Alliance; Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus; American Heart Association; Health Committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; AAUW Hawaii; AlohaCare; Americans for Democratic Action; Wainiha Country Market; Healthy Eating Active Living Coalition; University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; Holomua Collaborative; Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Resources Development; Maui Chamber of Commerce; and ACLU of Hawaiʻi.

Your Committee finds that the United States is the only remaining industrialized nation without mandated access to paid family and medical leave benefits for the private sector employees under federal law. Your Committee further finds that Hawaii's working families are not adequately supported during times of caregiving and illness. While the federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows twelve weeks of unpaid leave to employees who have worked at a business that employs fifty or more employees, the majority of Hawaii's workforce cannot afford to take unpaid leave to care for a new child or attend to the needs of a family member with a serious health condition. The working group established under this measure seeks to support all employees in the State by finding methods to successfully institute a state-wide Family Paid Leave Program.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 145, S.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair