Report Title:

Unemployment Insurance; Weekly Benefits

Description:

Encourages eligible claimants of unemployment insurance to seek gainful employment by permitting claimants to receive their weekly benefit amount without regard to earnings received from employment.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1774

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that section 383-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is not compatible with prevailing wages and serves as a disincentive for those seeking additional employment because the statute imposes a greater restriction on individuals seeking to maximize work opportunity and penalizes those individuals with multiple employers. The legislature further finds that amending section 383-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, serves the public interest in that individuals are encouraged to seek gainful employment.

The purpose of this Act is to maximize the weekly benefit amount that an eligible individual who is unemployed is entitled to receive, regardless of the wages earned by the eligible individual.

SECTION 2. Section 383-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§383-23 Weekly benefit for unemployment. [For weeks beginning prior to January 5, 1992, each eligible individual who is unemployed, as defined in section 383-1, in any week shall be paid with respect to that week a benefit in an amount equal to the individual's weekly benefit amount less that part of the wages (if any) payable to the individual with respect to that week which is in excess of $2.] Effective for weeks beginning January 5, 1992, and thereafter, each eligible individual who is unemployed, as defined in section 383-1, in any week shall be paid with respect to that week a benefit in an amount equal to the individual's weekly benefit amount less that part of the wages (if any) payable to the individual with respect to that week which is in excess of $50. Effective for weeks beginning January 1, 2004, and thereafter, each eligible individual who is unemployed, as defined in section 383-1, in any week shall be paid with respect to that week a benefit in an amount equal to the individual's weekly benefit amount. The benefit, if not a multiple of $1, shall be computed to the next higher multiple of $1."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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