Bill Text: HI HR61 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging State Departments And Agencies To Enable Employees To Telework To The Greatest Extent Possible.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-04-04 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR61 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-HR61-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

61

THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging state departments and agencies to enable employees to telework to the greatest extent possible.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, telework generally refers to a flexible work arrangement under which an employee performs the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position and other authorized activities from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would otherwise work, including the employee's residence; and

 

     WHEREAS, although telework was offered to the workforce in Hawaii on a minimal basis prior to 2020, the disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced many government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to rapidly transition their operations to provide for telework; and

 

     WHEREAS, although some government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations struggled to determine an effective way to transition their operations to telework, telework has grown to become an integral way of life and business for many employees and employers; and

 

     WHEREAS, by embracing telework, state departments and agencies can attract and retain top talent, including younger employees, by offering workplace flexibility, ultimately making the State more competitive with the private sector without directly increasing labor costs; and

 

     WHEREAS, encouraging state departments and agencies to allow employees to telework would help to improve the continuity of government operations during emergencies, retain a more resilient workforce, reduce management costs related to employee turnover and absenteeism, diminish traffic congestion, reduce strain on public infrastructure and resources, and enhance the work-life balance of their employees by allowing them to better manage their work and family obligations; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that state departments and agencies are urged to enable employees to telework to the greatest extent possible; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state departments and agencies are requested to adopt telework policies that monitor employee productivity and, if necessary, require an employee to return to the office if the employee demonstrates that they are unable to meet deliverables when teleworking; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each state department and agency is requested to:

 

     (1)  Compile a list of positions within its respective department or agency that can be fully or partially performed through telework and indicate how many of those positions are currently allowed to telework;

 

     (2)  Compile a list of the department's or agency's efforts to enable their employees to telework more easily and frequently; and

 

     (3)  Submit the respective lists to the Legislature prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Comptroller; Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture; Attorney General; Director of Finance; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Adjutant General; Chairperson of the Board of Education; Superintendent of Education; Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; Director of Health; Director of Human Resources Development; Director of Human Services; Director of Labor and Industrial Relations; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Director of Law Enforcement; Director of Taxation; Director of Transportation; and President of the University of Hawaii System.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title: 

State Departments and Agencies; Telework; Employees

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