Report Title:

Eligible Employees; Prepaid Health Care Law

Description:

Directs DLIR to adopt rules to clarify the definition of "eligible employee" for purposes of the prepaid health care law, as an employee who works 80 or more hours in a consecutive 4-week period, regardless of the number of hours worked in any one week of that period.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2588

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to employees.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's prepaid health care law, under chapter 393, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires employers to provide health care coverage for regular employees who earn at least 86.67 times the State's minimum hourly wage. Section 393-3(8), Hawaii Revised Statutes, defines "regular employee" as an employee who works for any one employer for at least twenty hours per week but does not include seasonal workers. Furthermore, in section 12-12-1, Hawaii administrative rules, the department of labor and industrial relations defines "eligible employee" as an employee who has worked for an employer for twenty or more hours a week for four consecutive weeks, and earned 86.67 times the Hawaii minimum wage. Generally, employees who work less than twenty hours a week are considered "part-time" employees for whom employers are not required to provide health care coverage.

However, it appears that certain employees who work more than twenty hours in one week, but fewer than twenty hours in another week, may not be able to meet the definition of "eligible employee" and thus are deprived of health care coverage. For example, if an employee works thirty hours in the first and third weeks, but only nine hours in the second and fourth weeks, that employee's total hours would fail to reach the required eighty hours over the consecutive four-week period and thus disqualify the employee from health care coverage.

The purpose of this Act is to direct the department of labor and industrial relations to clarify the definition of "eligible employee" to include employees who work eighty or more hours in a consecutive four-week period, regardless of the number of hours worked in any one week of that period.

SECTION 2. Department of labor and industrial relations; rules; clarify definition of "eligible employee". The department of labor and industrial relations shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to clarify that an "eligible employee" under chapter 393, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is any employee who works eighty or more hours in a consecutive four-week period, regardless of the number of hours worked in any one week of that period.

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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