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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TO
   CONDUCT A STUDY ON DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX, RACE, AND
   NATIONAL ORIGIN WITH REGARD TO WAGES AND OTHER TERMS AND
   CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.



 1       WHEREAS, despite federal and state laws banning
 2   discrimination in employment and pay, in both the private and
 3   public sector, wage differentials persist between women and men
 4   and between minorities and non-minorities in the same jobs and
 5   in jobs that are dissimilar but that require equivalent
 6   composites of skill, effort, responsibility, and working
 7   conditions; and
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, the existence of such wage differentials:
10   
11       (1)  Depresses wages and living standards for employees
12            necessary for their health and efficiency;
13   
14       (2)  Reduces family incomes and contributes to higher
15            poverty rates among female-headed and minority
16            households; 
17   
18       (3)  Prevents the maximum utilization of the available
19            labor resources;
20   
21       (4)  Tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening,
22            affecting, and obstructing commerce;
23   
24       (5)  Constitutes an unfair method of competition; and
25   
26       (6)  Constitutes a discriminatory practice;
27   
28   and
29   
30       WHEREAS, discrimination in wage-setting practices has
31   played a role in depressing wages for women and minorities
32   generally; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, eliminating discrimination in compensation based
 2   on sex, race, and national origin would have positive effects,
 3   including:
 4   
 5       (1)  Providing a solution to problems in the economy
 6            created by discriminatory wage differentials;
 7   
 8       (2)  Reducing the number of working women and people of
 9            color earning low wages, thereby lowering their
10            incidence of poverty during normal working years and
11            in retirement; and
12   
13       (3)  Promoting stable families by raising family incomes;
14   
15   and
16   
17       WHEREAS, many individuals work in occupations that are
18   dominated by individuals of the same sex, race, and national
19   origin, and discrimination in hiring, job assignment, and
20   promotion has played a role in establishing and maintaining
21   segregated work forces; and
22   
23       WHEREAS, in jobs where 70 percent or more of the workers
24   are women, including clerical, cashier, librarian, and child-
25   care positions, women typically earn less than workers in jobs
26   where most workers are men; and
27   
28       WHEREAS, women who work in female-dominated positions would
29   earn approximately 18 percent more per year if they earned as
30   much as women in comparable jobs that are more gender-mixed;
31   and
32   
33       WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
34   Statistics reported that:
35   
36       (1)  Full-time women workers of all races, including those
37            who are African American, Asian American, Pacific
38            Islander, Native American, Aleut Eskimo or other race,
39            Hispanics who may be of any race, and White, earn, on
40            average, 74.4 cents for every $1.00 earned by men
41            workers of all races;
42   
43       (2)  Full-time White, non-Hispanic women workers earn, on
44            average, 73.2 cents for every $1.00 earned by White,
45            non-Hispanic men workers; 

 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       (3)  Full-time minority women, including those who are
 2            African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander,
 3            Native American, Aleut Eskimo or other race, and
 4            Hispanics who may be of any race, earn, on average
 5            88.9 cents for every $1.00 earned by minority men
 6            workers; and
 7   
 8       (4)  Full-time women workers in Hawaii of all races earn,
 9            on average, 82.4 cents for every $1.00 earned by men
10            workers in Hawaii;
11   
12   and
13   
14       WHEREAS, according to the AFL-CIO and Institute for Women's
15   Policy Research, recent studies indicate that between one-
16   quarter and one-half of the gender wage gap remains
17   unexplained, and that many economists attribute some or all of
18   this unexplained portion to discrimination; now, therefore,
19   
20       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
21   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
22   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Labor
23   and Industrial Relations (DLIR) is requested to conduct a
24   study:
25   
26       (1)  Regarding whether there is a history of discrimination
27            against women or minority groups with regard to wages,
28            assignment, or access to jobs, or other terms and
29            conditions of employment; and
30   
31       (2)  Conduct a study regarding the demographic composition
32            of the work force in equivalent jobs; provided that,
33            for purposes of the study, "equivalent jobs" means
34            jobs or occupations that are equal within the meaning
35            of the Federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C.
36            206(d), or jobs or occupations that are dissimilar but
37            whose requirements are equivalent, when viewed as a
38            composite of skills, effort, responsibility, and
39            working conditions;
40   
41   and
42   
43       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DLIR is requested to submit a
44   report to the Legislature on its findings and recommendations,
45   including proposed legislation if necessary, no later than
46   twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of
47   2000; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the
 3   Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Hawaii Civil
 4   Rights Commission, and the Executive Director of the Hawaii
 5   State Commission on the Status of Women.