STAND. COM. REP. NO.2963

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 682

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 682 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTESTS OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH MATTERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to transfer the responsibility of adjudicating appeals on matters of occupational safety and health (OSHA) from the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board (LIRAB) to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board (HLRB).

Testimony in support of the measure was received from LIRAB, HLRB, and the ILWU, Local 142.

Your Committee finds that OSHA cases involve the important matter of health and safety in the workplace. Cases are presently under the jurisdiction of LIRAB. Also within LIRAB’s jurisdiction are workers’ compensation cases. These cases represent a tremendous caseload for LIRAB. For example, at the close of FY 1999-2000 LIRAB’s pending workers’ compensation caseload was 761. Accordingly, because of this heavy caseload, cases before LIRAB, including OSHA cases, are not resolved for several months and may take over a year.

Your Committee also finds that since July, 2000, LIRAB and HLRB have worked cooperatively to utilize HLRB’s existing resources to address the backlog of OSHA cases. LIRAB appointed HLRB as hearings officers to hear and recommend a decision in OSHA cases. Fifty-six cases were referred to HLRB since July, 2000, of that number, thirty-one cases have been settled, twelve dismissed, and recommended decisions have been issued by HLRB in three cases.

Your Committee believes that transferring jurisdiction of OSHA cases from LIRAB to HLRB will improve the timeliness in resolving OSHA cases. Moreover, the transferring of OSHA cases to HLRB will permit LIRAB to focus solely on workers’ compensation cases.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 682, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

BOB NAKATA, Chair