STAND. COM. REP. NO. 609

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1307

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1307 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Authorize recovery of attorney's fees and costs by any person who successfully defends any charge of workers' compensation fraud with the exception of criminal cases, against the person who initiates and prosecutes the action; and

(2) Authorize the Insurance Commissioner to investigate complaints and prosecute cases of workers' compensation fraud, provided that the complaint is against an insurance carrier, a self-insured employer, or a full-insured employer.

The Hawaii State AFL-CIO, ILWU, Local 142, and HGEA testified in support of the bill. The Hawaii Chamber of Commerce testified in support of the intent of the bill. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Human Resources Development, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., Hawaii Insurers Council, National

 

 

Federation of Independent Business – Hawaii, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, and General Contractors Association of Hawaii opposed the measure. The Hawaii Chapter American Physical Therapy Association and Employers' Chamber of Commerce provided comments on the bill.

Your Committee finds that recent documentation cited in the Insurance Journal, noted that evidence from states that have pursued workers' compensation fraud indicated that for every dollar in claimant fraud, four to five dollars were lost to premium fraud. This bill addresses this concern by authorizing the Insurance Commissioner to investigate complaints and to prosecute workers' compensation fraud against insurers, self-insured employers, and fully insured employers.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1307 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

 

____________________________

KIRK CALDWELL, Chair