Hawaii 2023 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SR129 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 129 THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION requesting the department of labor and industrial relations to conduct a study of the exemptions to hawaii's minimum wage law.
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3	3	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 129
4	4	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
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7	7	THE SENATE
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9	9	S.R. NO.
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11	11	129
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13	13	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
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17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
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29	29	SENATE RESOLUTION
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35	35	requesting the department of labor and industrial relations to conduct a study of the exemptions to hawaii's minimum wage law.
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43	43	WHEREAS, a living wage is a human right; and WHEREAS, by Act 114, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, the State incrementally increased Hawaii's minimum wage from $12 per hour beginning October 1, 2022, to $18 per hour beginning January 1, 2028; and WHEREAS, numerous exemptions to Hawaii's minimum wage law are contained in section 387-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which lists occupations that are excluded from the applicable definition of "employee"; and WHEREAS, these exemptions include agricultural employees at farms employing less than twenty people, individuals engaged in coffee harvesting, domestic caretakers, administrative and supervisory employees, persons engaged in catching or harvesting fish, student employees of nonprofit schools, and many others; and WHEREAS, while the federal Fair Labor Standards Act has declared certain jobs to be exempt from state and federal minimum wage laws, many modern scholars have argued that these provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act promote racism, sexism, and pay discrimination; and WHEREAS, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a minimum wage employee must work one hundred twenty-three hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom rental home at fair market rent in Hawaii; and WHEREAS, according to the Out of Reach 2022 report, a minimum wage employee must work one hundred sixty-one hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent in Hawaii; and WHEREAS, over sixty percent of households in the islands are severely cost burdened, meaning that they pay more than thirty percent of their income on housing, a number that rises to over eighty percent for extremely low-income households; and WHEREAS, this body finds that the exemptions to Hawaii's minimum wage law should be evaluated to determine if modifications are appropriate to ensure that working families are able to meet their basic needs as Hawaii's high cost of living continues to increase; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to conduct a study of the exemptions to Hawaii's minimum wage law; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study is requested to specifically consider the exemptions from the definition of "employee" that are contained in section 387-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including whether any of those exemptions should be repealed; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Director of Labor and Industrial Relations. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Minimum Wage; Exemptions; DLIR; Study; Report
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45	45	WHEREAS, a living wage is a human right; and
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49	49	WHEREAS, by Act 114, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, the State incrementally increased Hawaii's minimum wage from $12 per hour beginning October 1, 2022, to $18 per hour beginning January 1, 2028; and
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53	53	WHEREAS, numerous exemptions to Hawaii's minimum wage law are contained in section 387-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which lists occupations that are excluded from the applicable definition of "employee"; and
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57	57	WHEREAS, these exemptions include agricultural employees at farms employing less than twenty people, individuals engaged in coffee harvesting, domestic caretakers, administrative and supervisory employees, persons engaged in catching or harvesting fish, student employees of nonprofit schools, and many others; and
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61	61	WHEREAS, while the federal Fair Labor Standards Act has declared certain jobs to be exempt from state and federal minimum wage laws, many modern scholars have argued that these provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act promote racism, sexism, and pay discrimination; and
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65	65	WHEREAS, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2022 report, a minimum wage employee must work one hundred twenty-three hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom rental home at fair market rent in Hawaii; and
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69	69	WHEREAS, according to the Out of Reach 2022 report, a minimum wage employee must work one hundred sixty-one hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent in Hawaii; and
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73	73	WHEREAS, over sixty percent of households in the islands are severely cost burdened, meaning that they pay more than thirty percent of their income on housing, a number that rises to over eighty percent for extremely low-income households; and
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77	77	WHEREAS, this body finds that the exemptions to Hawaii's minimum wage law should be evaluated to determine if modifications are appropriate to ensure that working families are able to meet their basic needs as Hawaii's high cost of living continues to increase; now, therefore,
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81	81	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to conduct a study of the exemptions to Hawaii's minimum wage law; and
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85	85	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study is requested to specifically consider the exemptions from the definition of "employee" that are contained in section 387-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including whether any of those exemptions should be repealed; and
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89	89	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and
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93	93	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.
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101	101	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
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105	105	OFFERED BY:
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107	107	_____________________________
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109	109	Report Title:
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111	111	Minimum Wage; Exemptions; DLIR; Study; Report