STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1552

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 325

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 325, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize employees to use temporary disability insurance sick leave benefits in excess of the minimum statutory temporary disability insurance benefits requirement for family leave purposes.

In addition, the measure amends the definition of "sick leave" under state family leave law.

Your Committee finds that Act 44, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, required employers who provide sick leave for employees to allow use of accrued and available sick leave above the amount required under the temporary disability insurance law for family leave purposes. An opinion of the Attorney General, however, advised that, under the current temporary disability law, employers are not required to allow employees to use sick leave for family leave purposes if the employer's entire self-insured temporary disability plan has been accepted by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. This measure allows the Department to accept self-insured plans in part, thus permitting excess sick leave benefits to be available for family leave use.

This measure has been amended by making technical nonsubstantive changes for the purpose of style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 325, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 325, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair