STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2122

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2386

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 2386 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT EARNINGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify that the requirement to disclose hourly rates or salary ranges on job listings applies to full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal employment; and

(2) Exempt employers having fewer than twenty-five employees, rather than fifty, from the disclosure requirement.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission, AAUW of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi State Democratic Women's Caucus and twelve individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business.

Your Committee finds that pay inequity is a prominent problem in the workforce that leads to wages being dragged down and the normalization of secrecy regarding compensation and other terms of employment, and allows for pay discrimination to go unseen. Your Committee further finds that requiring employers to include pay or salary as part of a job advertisement helps to increase transparency and equal pay for all employees. However, under existing law requiring disclosure of hourly rates or salary ranges on job listings, a significant portion of businesses in the State were exempt due to having fewer than fifty employees. This measure strengthens and clarifies existing law by addressing gaps to ensure pay equity and transparency to protect workers in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of January 1, 2077, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2386, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2386, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

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BRANDON J.C. ELEFANTE, Chair