STAND. COM. REP. NO. 476

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 793

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 793 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE MINIMUM WAGE,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal state laws that exempt individuals with a disability from minimum wage requirements by:

 

     (1)  Repealing section 387-9(a)(2), Hawaii Revised Statutes, which allows payment of sub-minimum wage to individuals with impairments by obtaining a special certificate from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR); and

 

     (2)  Amending the definition of "qualified community rehabilitation program" (QCRP) under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code by eliminating the requirement that they hold the DLIR special certificate and a federal certificate issued under section 14(c) of the Fair Labors Standard Act of 1938, as amended, which also allows payment of sub-minimum wage based on an individual's disability status.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Democratic Party of Hawaii Education Caucus, Democratic Party of Hawaii Hawaiian Affairs Caucus, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Imua Alliance, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142, MCH Lend, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, one member of the County Council of the County of Maui, and six individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

 

     Your Committees find that laws that allow payment of sub-minimum wage based on an individual's disability status are archaic and a possible violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended.  Your Committees further find that the employers who currently hold the certificate for sub-minimum wage are actually paying their employees statutory minimum wage, and the only reason for them obtaining the certificates is to meet the definition of QCRP under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code.  The contracts that are awarded to QCRPs do not require payment of sub-minimum wage.  This measure will eliminate the need for these employers from obtaining the special certificates.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 793, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 793, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 


Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Human Services,

 

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair

 

________________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair