STAND. COM. REP. NO.160-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2529

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2529 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE WAGE AND HOUR LAW,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to increase the amount of guaranteed monthly compensation required to exempt individuals from the Wage and Hour Law.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations testified in support of this measure.

The Hawaii Wage and Hour Law was originally established to safeguard existing minimum wage and maximum hour standards to maintain the health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers. Under current law, an individual who receives a guaranteed monthly compensation of $1,250 or more is excluded from the State Wage and Hour Law. Recent increases in minimum wages have allowed employees to make over the minimum guaranteed monthly compensation of $1,250. As a cost cutting measure, some employers paying a guaranteed compensation, may hire individuals at the minimum level of compensation, but schedule them to work unlimited hours without being required to pay overtime compensation. This bill will correct this inequity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2529 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

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

 

____________________________

SCOTT SAIKI, Chair