STAND. COM. REP. NO. 393

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1578

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1578 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure 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.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the ILWU Local 142 and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce.

Your Committee finds that under the current law, individuals who are eligible for unemployment benefits receive a weekly benefit that is reduced by the amount of their weekly earnings in excess of fifty dollars. In Hawaii, many individuals must work multiple jobs in order to support themselves and their families. However, if these individuals become eligible for unemployment benefits, due to a loss of one of those jobs, but continue to receive earnings from other part-time employment, they are penalized for their employment through the reduction in their weekly benefit. As a result, the existing law presents a deterrent for those individuals seeking employment or individuals with multiple employers who are eligible for unemployment benefits. Your Committee determines that these eligible individuals should be allowed to maximize their employment opportunities while at the same time being encouraged to resume work to the fullest extent possible by allowing them to receive their weekly benefit amount unreduced for any wages earned.

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 S.B. No. 1578 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,

____________________________

BRIAN KANNO, Chair