STAND. COM. REP. NO. 285-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2587

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 2587 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify the employment status of certain delivery drivers under state laws related to workers' compensation, wage and hour, temporary disability insurance, family leave, tax classification of business relationships, and unemployment insurance by establishing conditions under which delivery drivers are deemed employees of the business operating the delivery program.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Retail Merchants of Hawaiʻi. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee finds that many delivery drivers operate under strict, often algorithmically enforced time frames and cannot refuse assignments without penalty, creating working conditions that resemble those of employees rather than independent contractors. Your Committee further finds that this level of control can result in misclassification, which deprives workers of important labor protections and shifts financial and legal responsibilities away from the businesses that direct the work. Your Committee believes that establishing clear statutory criteria for determining employee status for delivery drivers ensures consistent application of labor protections and promotes a fairer employment framework in the rapidly growing delivery‑based economy.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2587, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2587, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair