STAND. COM. REP. NO.2964

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2232

H.D. 1

 

 

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. 2232, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE WHISTLEBLOWERS' PROTECTION ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to strengthen the protection provided by Hawaii's Whistleblowers' Protection Act.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the ILWU Local 142, Common Cause Hawaii, the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. The Society of Human Resource Management – Hawaii Chapter, the Hawaii Bankers Association, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and HMSA testified in opposition to the measure.

Specifically, the measure strengthens the Whistleblowers' Protection Act by:

(1) Providing protection to employees who report or are about to report violations of law to government entities or their employers;

(2) Increasing the duration of the statute of limitations for filing a claim under the Whistleblowers' Protection Act from ninety days to two years; and

(3) Replacing the flat $500 per violation penalty with a range of $500 to $5,000 per violation.

Your Committee believes that the measure not only provides aggrieved employees with better protection under the law, but also serves as a stronger deterrent against unscrupulous employers who would otherwise take advantage of their employees' trust.

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. 2232, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

BOB NAKATA, Chair