Bill Text: HI SR170 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Legislative Reference Bureau, In Consultation With The Attorney General, To Provide A Report To The Legislature On Employment Discrimination Protections For Employees At Sectarian Schools And Other Religious Institutions.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-10 - Referred to GVO/JDC. [SR170 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-SR170-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	170
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, TO PROVIDE A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES AT SECTARIAN SCHOOLS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.

 

 

 

               WHEREAS, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion; and

 

     WHEREAS, in January 2020, Maryknoll School, a private coeducational Catholic school in Honolulu, Hawaii, dismissed its middle school director from employment because she was pregnant and unmarried; and

 

     WHEREAS, before her dismissal, the middle school director led a distinguished career as an educator at Maryknoll School for sixteen years; and

 

     WHEREAS, at the time of her dismissal, the director's employment responsibilities were secular in nature, rather than sectarian, raising questions about whether her dismissal may violate protections against gender discrimination in the workplace; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, impairing the employment of an individual based on pregnancy status may constitute sex-based discrimination because only women can become pregnant; and

 

     WHEREAS, article I, section 5 of the Hawaii State Constitution proclaims that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of the person's civil rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of race, religion, sex, or ancestry; and

 

     WHEREAS, protecting employees from discrimination is essential to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunity to pursue meaningful work and financial security; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the Legislative Reference Bureau, in consultation with the Attorney General, is requested to submit a report to the Legislature on employment discrimination protections for employees at sectarian schools and other religious institutions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report is requested to include:

 

     (1)  Information about federal and state laws governing the extent to which sectarian schools and other religious institutions are exempt from discrimination protections afforded to nonsectarian institutions, including protections for faculty whose employment responsibilities do not include religious duties and responsibilities; and

 

     (2)  Recommendations for expanding discrimination protections for employees working at sectarian schools and other religious institutions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau and Attorney General.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Employment Discrimination Protections; Sectarian Schools; Religious Institutions; LRB Report; Attorney General