HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

80

TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO EXAMINE FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS TO ALLOW STATES TO MORE READILY ENACT UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION-RELATED LAWS THAT ALLOW FEAR OF DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE TO BE A VALID REASON FOR NOT ACCEPTING SUITABLE WORK.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, domestic violence and sex assault is an international issue that permeates all levels of society, and affects people regardless of age, income, education, religion, or culture; and

 

     WHEREAS, a February 2008, report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that 23.6 percent of women and 11.5 percent of men reported at least one lifetime episode of intimate-partner violence; and

 

     WHEREAS, the cost of domestic violence to the United States economy is more than $8.3 billion annually, which impacts a wide-range of areas including medical care, mental health services, and lost productivity; and

 

     WHEREAS, in addition to the physical and psychological effects of domestic violence on the victim and the victim's family, there are job-related consequences; and

 

     WHEREAS, such violence results in nearly 8,000,000 lost days of paid work per year, or the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs; and

 

     WHEREAS, October 2006, United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics data indicates that domestic violence entering the workplace accounts for 24 percent of workplace violence incidents; and
     WHEREAS, a study of three large companies in 39 states indicated that ten percent of the workers who responded to the survey were currently going through some form of domestic abuse, and an additional 19 percent of men and 30 percent of women said they had been victims at some point in their lives; and

 

     WHEREAS, in some cases, victims of domestic abuse are victimized in the workplace, thereby creating a dangerous situation not only for the victim, but also for persons at the workplace; and

 

     WHEREAS, safety of all persons in the workplace should be a top priority; and

 

     WHEREAS, domestic violence can impede job search efforts for victims of domestic violence who must look for a safe place to live and care for their children; are healing from injuries; or must leave their jobs for fear of their safety and their co-workers; and

 

     WHEREAS, federal unemployment insurance laws require claimants to be "able and available" to work, as well as actively seeking work, which can be challenging for victims who are searching for work or must leave work because of domestic violence; and

 

     WHEREAS, victims of domestic or sexual violence may not be able to meet the "able and available" work requirement under unemployment insurance laws; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is requested to examine federal laws and regulations to allow states to more readily enact unemployment compensation-related laws that will allow fear of domestic or sexual violence to be a valid reason for not accepting suitable work; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in examining federal laws and regulations, the United States Congress is requested to review "able and available" work requirements as they apply to victims of domestic or sexual violence who seek unemployment compensation and insurance benefits during periods of unemployment; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Congress is urged to consider funding sources, other than the states' unemployment trust fund accounts or other accounts that receive funding from employers, for compensating individuals who would otherwise have qualified for unemployment insurance, except for their being unable to meet the acceptance-of-suitable-work requirements and "able and available" work requirements of the federal unemployment compensation law due to fear of domestic or sexual violence; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President and Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, United States Secretary of Labor, Hawaii's Congressional Delegation, Governor of the State of Hawaii, and State Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Unemployment Insurance; Domestic Violence