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Unemployment
Session Ends; HEC Legislative Digest Updated After Adjournment Sine Die
Written by admin
Tuesday, 07 May 2013 11:17

The long days and late nights at the Capitol are over, and the 2013 Legislative Session has come to an end.

The Hawaii Employers Council (“HEC”) has an updated Legislative Digest for bills that were passed by the Legislature during the 2013 legislative session.  Fortunately for employers, only a few employment-related bills survived this legislative session.  A quick summary of the fate of employment bills from this year is as follows…

Bills that have already been signed into law by the Governor include:

  • Notice Period for UI Appeals Hearings
  • Pay Records and Pay Stubs

Bills that have been sent to the Governor for his approval (or veto) include:

  • Breastfeeding Break Time
  • Workers’ Compensation (“WC”) Medical Fee Schedule Study
  • Definition of “Small Employer” for Health Insurance

Bills that did not pass this year include:

  • Minimum Wage
  • Successor Employers and Employee Retention
  • Paycheck Withholdings for Restitution Cases
  • Organ Donor Leave
  • Social Media Password Privacy
  • Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rates Changes
  • Paid Sick and Safe Leave
  • Elimination of IMEs for WC Cases
  • Meal Breaks
  • Discrimination against Unemployed Individuals
  • Abusive Workplaces
  • GET Increase

In the next couple months, I will be giving several presentations on the 2013 legislative session, including HEC’s 2013 Legislative Update on June 21, 2013.  I will also be doing in-house presentations for several of HEC’s members and industry roundtable groups.  If you are able to join us at any of those presentations (and would like to find out what “OTBD” means), I hope to see you there.

To view the updated Legislative Digest, as well as an article highlighting several of the bills mentioned above, you can visit HEC’s website here:  HEC Offers Final Bill Summary for 2013 Session.

 
HEC Legislative Digest Updated After First Crossover
Written by admin
Thursday, 14 March 2013 10:01

The Hawaii Employers Council has an updated Legislative Digest, following First Crossover.  Some of the bills that are still alive address the following areas of law:

  • Successor Employers and Employee Retention
  • Social Media Privacy for Employees and Job Applicants
  • Breastfeeding for Employees
  • Paid Leave for Organ, Bone Marrow, or Stem Cell Donation
  • Minimum Wage Increases
  • Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule Increases

If you would like to view the Legislative Digest, you can view a copy here:  HEC Legislative Digest.

 
HEC Legislative Digest Now Available
Written by admin
Thursday, 31 January 2013 09:54

Each state Legislative session, the Hawaii Employers Council prepares a Legislative Digest summarizing bills that may be of interest to Hawaii employers.  This year, the bills covered include those in the following categories:

  • Employment Practices and Employment Rights
  • Hawaii Family Leave Law
  • Wage and Hour – Minimum Wage
  • Wage and Hour – Miscellaneous
  • Unemployment Insurance
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Health and Insurance
  • Public Employees
  • Public Contracts
  • Government Agencies
  • General Excise Tax; Tax Credits
  • Miscellaneous

If you would like to view the Legislative Digest, you can view a copy here:  HEC Legislative Digest.

 
2012 Legislative Update
Written by admin
Tuesday, 08 May 2012 15:05

The 2012 Legislative Session is done.  All we have left to do is wait and see what bills the Governor signs, vetoes, or allows to become law without his signature.

This year, the legislature appeared to be focused on unemployment insurance as one of the hot topics.  In fact, two bills regarding Hawaii’s unemployment insurance laws have already been signed into law by the Governor, and a third is on its way.  In addition, several other bills (on both employment and non-employment issues) are also still alive, and have been sent to the Governor for his signature or veto.

Hawaii Employers Council* (“HEC”) tracks legislation affecting Hawaii’s employers, and a copy of the Legislative Digest and Legislative Update articles can be found on HEC’s website here.

In addition, I will be presenting a seminar on the 2012 Legislative Session at the Hawaii Employers Council on June 6, 2012 at 9 am.  This briefing is FREE for HEC Members.  Also presenting with me will be Lowell Kalapa, President of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

_______
*My employer.  See blog post here for more details.

 
Governor Signs Bill Regarding Employer Appeals of Unemployment Tax Rates
Written by admin
Thursday, 12 April 2012 19:38

The Governor has signed Act 013 into law, which clarifies the process for how an employer can appeal their unemployment insurance (“UI”) contribution tax rates for the year.

The current law, Section 383-69 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”), provides that employers have 15 days from the mailing of their contribution rate notice to file an application for review and redetermination.  As it is currently written,  HRS § 383-69 does not specify that the Employment Security Appeals Referees’ Office (“ESARO”) is the agency responsible for hearing the appeal (it just states that the “department” will hear the appeal.)  Therefore, to clear up any confusion, this bill specifies that rate determination appeals shall be filed with ESARO.

This bill was introduced as an administration bill, and more specifically, as a “housekeeping” measure.  Despite such a seemingly innocuous label for this bill, however, things should be noted:

First, this bill deleted language from HRS  § 383-69 that previously provided that appeals made to the circuit court (after ESARO issues its ruling) “shall be heard in a summary manner and shall be given precedence over all other civil actions, except for proceedings arising under section 383-41 and the workers’ compensation law of the State.”  Thus, this is actually a significant but overlooked component of this new law, because employers’ appeals of their rate determination are no longer required be addressed in an expeditious manner by the courts.  This change in the law may end up being a point of concern for employers, because it will take employers longer to contest their UI contribution rates.

Second, and more alarmingly, the initial draft of this bill contained language that would have taken away employers’ rights to appeal the ESARO decision to the circuit court.  Rather, the ESARO decision would have become final and binding upon an employer.  This  would have been a major infringement on employers’ rights to challenge their UI contribution tax rates.  Fortunately, later drafts of this bill, including the draft signed by Governor Abercrombie, included employers’ right to file administrative appeals with circuit court.

A copy of this measure can be read here.