Lawmakers seek to protect worker benefits and be sensitive to the
burden on employers
The House Committee on Labor & Public Employment today
passed HB1191 HD1 to increase Hawaiʻi's minimum wage. The bill will increase the state minimum wage on a gradual
basis beginning on January 1, 2020 through 2024, with smaller wage increases
for employees receiving employer-sponsored health insurance to incentivize
employers to continue to provide that benefit.
"The bill balances the real need of lower-wage workers to keep up
with Hawaiʻi's high cost of living and small businesses' ability to continue doing business amidst
the significant burdens imposed on them by the state," said Representative
Aaron Ling Johanson, Chair of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment.
"The bill improves the wages of those who are most vulnerable with less
risk of compromising those same employees' health insurance currently paid for
by the employer."
The Legislature last incrementally raised the minimum wage beginning
in 2015 from $7.25 to $7.75. The minimum wage then rose to $8.50 in 2016, $9.25
in 2017, and $10.10 in 2018. The current minimum wage in 2019 is $10.10. Under HB1191
HD1, the minimum wage for employees not receiving employer-sponsored health insurance will gradually
increase until it reaches $15.00 in 2024, and $12.50 in 2024 for employees who
are receiving employer-sponsored health insurance.
Hawaii is the only state that mandates employers pay for health
insurance for all employees who work 20 or more hours per week. Additionally,
Hawaiʻi employers must provide compensation benefits
in a state that statutorily presumes an employee is injured on the job unless
proven otherwise, temporary disability benefits, and family leave. Rep. Johanson said, "HB1191
HD1 seeks to protect the necessary and important benefits workers
presently receive while remaining sensitive to the burden it poses to small businesses
and employers."
This bill will now advance to
the House Committee on Finance.
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