Bill Text: HI SR55 | 2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission And Executive Office On Aging To Study The Prevalence Of Age Discrimination In Hiring Applicants Over The Age Of Sixty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-15 - Referred to LBT. [SR55 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2023-SR55-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
55 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
requesting the hawaii civil rights commission and executive office on aging to study the prevalence of age discrimination in hiring applicants over the age of sixty.
WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, title 29 United States Code section 621, as amended, to protect certain applicants and employees forty years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in the hiring; promotion; discharge; compensation; or terms, conditions, or privileges of employment; and
WHEREAS, in April 2017, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics published a summary of an article that appeared in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter 2017-06, February 27, 2017, "Age Discrimination and Hiring of Older Workers", reporting on employer responses to applicant profiles for advertised positions by measuring the number of callbacks each age group of fictitious but otherwise identical applicants received for a subsequent interview; and
WHEREAS, the authors found that, across all the applications, the callback rate for interviews was uniformly lower for older applicants – a finding that they describe as "consistent with age discrimination in hiring"; for sales positions, the thirty percent gap in callback rates between young and older men was statistically significant but still smaller than the thirty-six percent gap in the rates for young and older women; and
WHEREAS, the National Council on Aging and American Association of Retired Persons have produced numerous studies documenting the pervasiveness of ageism in the workplace; and
WHEREAS, there is ample anecdotal information suggesting that many human resources departments utilize specific search engines such as Intelius, TruthFinder, Spokeo, and BeenVerified to prescreen applicant information before contacting a prospective employee for an interview; and
WHEREAS, Patrick Button, Assistant Professor of Economics at Tulane University, offered testimony before the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that explained that enforcement of anti-discrimination laws as applied to hiring is more difficult than other types of anti-discrimination enforcement because most of the discrimination occurs at the interview offer phase, making it nearly impossible to prove that age discrimination is the reason for a lack of interview; and
WHEREAS, this body finds that in Hawaii, many employers do not acknowledge receipt of a resume or application for a position, which is an important factor in proving hiring discrimination; and
WHEREAS, the State of Connecticut passed legislation in 2021 that makes it a discriminatory employment practice for an employer to require a prospective employee to provide a date of birth, dates of school attendance, or graduation dates on an initial employment application; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii has a strong commitment to the protection of civil rights; and
WHEREAS, article I, section 5, of the Hawaii State Constitution provides 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, the Legislature gave meaning to this commitment by creating the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission through the enactment of Act 219, Session Laws of Hawaii 1988, and Acts 386 and 387, Session Laws of Hawaii 1989, and making discriminatory practices in employment unlawful, including discrimination because of age under section 378-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, in establishing the Executive Office on Aging, the Legislature declared that, "in keeping with the traditional American concept of the inherent dignity of the individual in our democratic society, the older people of our State are entitled to, and it is the joint and several duty and responsibility of the State of Hawaii and its counties to enable our older people to secure equal opportunity to the full and free enjoyment of" an adequate income in retirement and opportunity for employment with no discriminatory personnel practices because of age; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and Executive Office on Aging are requested to study the prevalence of age discrimination in the hiring of applicants over the age of sixty; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and Executive Office on Aging are requested to collaborate on a report to the Legislature concerning:
(1) Any discriminatory practices and barriers limiting the ability of Hawaii's kupuna to reenter the workforce;
(2) Recommendations on mitigation measures to eliminate age discrimination and reduce barriers to hiring individuals over the age of sixty; and
(3) Any other matters the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and Executive Office on Aging deem appropriate; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and Executive Office on Aging are requested to submit their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, Director of Health, Executive Director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, and Director of the Executive Office on Aging.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Age Discrimination; Employment; Seniors; HCRC; Executive Office on Aging; Report
