Report Title:

Health Benefits; Collective Bargaining

 

Description:

Makes level and type of health benefits for public employees, as well as contributions, subject to collective bargaining. (SD1)

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1056

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to public employees.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that allowing public employee health benefits to be subject to collective bargaining would rationalize the process of wage negotiations as well as afford the State and the counties the flexibility to provide benefits to their employees in a cost-effective manner.

The purpose of this Act is to allow health benefits, for which the State and the counties make contributions to the public employees health fund, to be subject to collective bargaining under chapter 89, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 2. Section 87-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) [The] Unless otherwise negotiated pursuant to section 89-9(a), the board of trustees shall determine the health benefits plan or plans, which shall be excepted from the minimum group requirements of chapter 431. The health benefits plan or plans shall provide, pay for, arrange for, or reimburse the cost of hospitalization, surgery, medical, dental treatment, and care, and may include prescribed drugs, medicines, prosthetic appliances, hospital in-patient and out-patient service benefits, vision treatment and care, medical, and dental benefits."

SECTION 3. Section 87-22.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§87-22.5 Determination of dental plan benefits. [Pursuant] Unless otherwise negotiated pursuant to section 89-9(a), and pursuant to section 87-4, the board of trustees shall provide dental plan benefits to the children of employee-beneficiaries who have not attained the age of nineteen in the following manner:

(1) For those children of employee-beneficiaries who are not participating in a dental program of an employee organization (hereafter called "nonparticipating employee-beneficiaries"), the board shall determine a dental plan and eligibility requirements for such benefits based upon a statutory monthly contribution per enrolled child;

(2) For those children of employee-beneficiaries who participate in the dental program of an employee organization, the board shall allot the statutory monthly contribution per enrolled child or the actual monthly cost of the child's coverage, whichever is less, towards the purchase of dental plan benefits under the dental program of an employee organization; provided that no enrolled child shall have more than one allotment a month; or

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) notwithstanding, an employee-beneficiary shall be required to enroll all of the employee-beneficiary's children who are under the age of nineteen in the children's dental plan for nonparticipating employee-beneficiaries or the dental program of an employee organization."

SECTION 4. Section 89-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) The employer and the exclusive representative shall meet at reasonable times, including meetings in advance of the employer's budget-making process, and shall negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, the number of incremental and longevity steps and movement between steps within the salary range, the amounts of contributions by the State and respective counties to the Hawaii public employees health fund [to the extent allowed in subsection (e)], the level and type of benefits provided by the public employees health fund under chapter 87, and other terms and conditions of employment which are subject to negotiations under this chapter and which are to be embodied in a written agreement, or any question arising thereunder, but such obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or make a concession; provided that the parties may not negotiate with respect to cost items as defined by section 89-2 for the biennium 1999 to 2001, and the cost items of employees in bargaining units under section 89-6 in effect on June 30, 1999, shall remain in effect until July 1, 2001."

2. By amending subsections (d) and (e) to read:

"(d) Excluded from the subjects of negotiations are matters of classification and reclassification, [benefits of but not contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund,] retirement benefits except as provided in section 88-8(h), and the salary ranges now provided by law; provided that the number of incremental and longevity steps, the amount of wages to be paid in each range and step, and movement between steps within the salary range shall be negotiable. The employer and the exclusive representative shall not agree to any proposal which would be inconsistent with merit principles or the principle of equal pay for equal work pursuant to sections 76-1, 76-2, 77-31, and 77-33, or which would interfere with the rights of a public employer to:

(1) [direct] Direct employees;

(2) [determine] Determine qualification, standards for work, the nature and contents of examinations, hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in positions and suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against employees for proper cause;

(3) [relieve] Relieve an employee from duties because of lack of work or other legitimate reason;

(4) [maintain] Maintain efficiency of government operations;

(5) [determine] Determine methods, means, and personnel by which the employer's operations are to be conducted; and [take]

(6) Take such actions as may be necessary to carry out the missions of the employer in cases of emergencies;

provided that the employer and the exclusive representative may negotiate procedures governing the promotion and transfer of employees to positions within a bargaining unit, procedures governing the suspension, demotion, discharge, or other disciplinary actions taken against employees, and procedures governing the layoff of employees; provided further that violations of the procedures so negotiated may be the subject of a grievance process agreed to by the employer and the exclusive representative.

(e) Negotiations relating to contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund shall be for the purpose of agreeing upon the level and type of benefits provided by the public employees health fund under chapter 87, and the amounts which the State and counties shall contribute under section 87-4, toward the payment of the costs for a health benefits plan, as defined in section 87-1(8), and group life insurance benefits, and the parties shall not be bound by the amounts contributed under prior agreements; provided that section 89-11 for the resolution of disputes by way of fact-finding or arbitration shall not be available to resolve impasses or disputes relating to the amounts the State and counties shall contribute to the Hawaii public employees health fund."

SECTION 5. Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, section 98, is amended by amending section 89-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) The employer and the exclusive representative shall meet at reasonable times, including meetings sufficiently in advance of the April 16 impasse date under section 89-11, and shall negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, the amounts of contributions by the State and respective counties to the Hawaii public employees health fund [to the extent allowed in subsection (e)], the level and type of benefits provided by the public employees health fund under chapter 87, and other terms and conditions of employment which are subject to collective bargaining and which are to be embodied in a written agreement as specified in section 89-10, but such obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or make a concession; provided that the parties may not negotiate with respect to cost items as defined by section 89-2 for the biennium 1999 to 2001, and the cost items of employees in bargaining units under section 89-6 in effect on June 30, 1999, shall remain in effect until July 1, 2001."

2. By amending subsections (d) and (e) to read:

"(d) Excluded from the subjects of negotiations are matters of classification, reclassification, [benefits of but not contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund,] recruitment, examination, initial pricing, and retirement benefits except as provided in section 88-8(h). The employer and the exclusive representative shall not agree to any proposal which would be inconsistent with the merit principle or the principle of equal pay for equal work pursuant to section 76-1 or which would interfere with the rights and obligations of a public employer to:

(1) Direct employees;

(2) Determine qualifications, standards for work, the nature and contents of examinations;

(3) Hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in positions;

(4) Suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against employees for proper cause;

(5) Relieve an employee from duties because of lack of work or other legitimate reason;

(6) Maintain efficiency and productivity, including maximizing the use of advanced technology, in government operations;

(7) Determine methods, means, and personnel by which the employer's operations are to be conducted; and

(8) Take such actions as may be necessary to carry out the missions of the employer in cases of emergencies.

The employer and the exclusive representative may negotiate procedures governing the promotion and transfer of employees to positions within a bargaining unit; the suspension, demotion, discharge, or other disciplinary actions taken against employees within the bargaining unit; and the layoff of employees within the bargaining unit. Violations of the procedures so negotiated may be subject to the grievance procedure in the collective bargaining agreement.

(e) Negotiations relating to contributions to the Hawaii public employees health fund shall be for the purpose of agreeing upon the level and type of benefits provided by the public employees health fund under chapter 87, and the amounts which the State and counties shall contribute under section 87-4, toward the payment of the costs for a health benefits plan, as defined in section 87-1(8), and group life insurance benefits, and the parties shall not be bound by the amounts contributed under prior agreements; provided that section 89-11 for the resolution of disputes by way of fact-finding or arbitration shall not be available to resolve impasses or disputes relating to the amounts the State and counties shall contribute to the Hawaii public employees health fund."

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.