Bill 80 (2020)
RELATING TO THE RIGHT OF RECALL
Bill Digest
Sec. 1.1
- “What matters most is for the recovery of workers and their families and for the State’s economy as a whole is that they get back to work as they were before the crisis hit.”
- “Hawaii hospitality-industry employers are required to bring back the same workers as before the pandemic, as their enterprises resume operations and restore their workforces as they are able."
- Hotel employers SHALL recall the same number of employees in substantially the same classifications as their active workforce on March 1, 2020, adjusted by the ratio the occupancy of the hotel bears to 100%
- A hotel must clean and sanitize every occupied room daily and must employ housekeepers to ensure this standard is met.
- Employers must contact all laid-off employees to notify them of all open positions for which an employee is qualified
- “An employer that declines to recall a laid-off employee on the grounds of lack of qualifications and instead hires someone other than a laid-off employee...SHALL provide the laid-off employee a written notice...identifying those hired in lieu of such a recall, along with all reasons for such decision and all demographic data the employer has about such new hires…”
- These requirements apply even under the following circumstances:
- The ownership of the employer changed
- The form of organization of the employer changed
- Substantially all of the assets of the employer were acquired by another entity
- The employer relocates within 25 miles
- Any combination of the circumstances above
- No employer shall terminate, reduce in compensation, refuse to employ, or take any adverse action against any person seeking to enforce their rights in this chapter
- Can be enforced by civil action
- Plaintiff may designate a rep or agent
- Case can be brought in the name of the people of the C&C by Corp. Counsel or the City Prosecutor
- Court can award attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and costs as costs recoverable
- This measure applies to all employees regardless of whether or not they are covered under a collective bargaining agreement.
- Any waiver by an employee of any or all of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable
- Any attempt to have an employee sign a waiver shall constitute a violation of this chapter
