Administration

HRS div. 1, tit. 21, ch. 383, pt. IV

in effect

HRS §383-91 Duties and powers of department, director

383-91. Duties and powers of department, director (a) The department of labor and industrial relations, herein referred to as the "department" shall administer this chapter through the director of labor and industrial relations pursuant to chapter 371. The director may delegate to any person such power and authority, vested in the director by this chapter, as the director deems reasonable and proper for the effective administration of this chapter, except the power to make rules or regulations, and may in the director's discretion bond any person handling moneys or signing checks hereunder. The director may cause to be printed and distributed to the public the text of this chapter or chapter 371, and any other material the director deems relevant and suitable, and the director shall deliver a copy of the director's rules and regulations to any person making application therefor. The director may require such reports, make such investigations, and take such other action as the director deems necessary or suitable for the administration of this chapter. (b) Personnel standards on a merit basis covering all persons employed in the administration of this chapter shall be established and maintained. The personnel standards shall be in conformity with the personnel standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to the Social Security Act, as amended, and the Act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for the establishment of a national employment system and for cooperation with the states in the promotion of such system, and for other purposes", approved June 6, 1933, as amended. The director may adopt such regulations applicable with respect to all persons employed in the administration of this chapter, as may be necessary to meet personnel standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor and to provide for all matters which are appropriate to the establishment and maintenance of a merit system on the basis of efficiency and fitness. Appointments of all persons employed in the administration of this chapter shall be on a merit basis and shall be made in accordance with the applicable provisions of any state civil service law; provided that if and whenever there are no applicable provisions of any state civil service law or if and whenever any state civil service law does not meet the personnel standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, then the personnel standards established and maintained by the director pursuant to this subsection, and meeting the personnel standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, shall be applied with respect to all persons employed in the administration of this chapter. (c) Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to any person who pursuant to chapter 371, or any other provision of law, is exempted from state civil service provisions, unless the application of subsection (b) to any such person is specifically provided for by this chapter or is required in order to conform to the requirements of section 303(a) of the Social Security Act as amended or to the personnel standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor. (d) Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the director may dismiss without notice any person employed in the administration of this chapter upon receipt of notice of a determination by the United States Civil Service Commission that the person has violated the Act of Congress entitled "An act to prevent pernicious political activities", as amended, and that such violation warrants the removal of the person from the person's employment. (e) The deputy attorney general or deputies attorney general assigned by the attorney general to furnish the legal services necessary in carrying out this chapter shall be compensated by the director. [L 1939, c 219, §10(a); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4269; am L 1951, c 195, §1(11), (12); am L 1953, c 41, §1(2) and c 105, §4; RL 1955, §93-90; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-91; gen ch 1985]

HRS §383-92 Rules and regulations

383-92. Rules and regulations The director of labor and industrial relations may adopt, amend, or repeal such rules and regulations as the director deems necessary or suitable for the administration of this chapter. The rules and regulations when prescribed in accordance with chapter 91 shall have the force and effect of law and shall be enforced in the same manner as this chapter. Any interested person may petition for an amendment or repeal of such rule or regulation as provided in section 91-6. [L 1939, c 219, §10(d); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4270; am L 1951, c 195, §1(13); RL 1955, §93-91; am L 1965, c 96, §73; HRS §383-92; gen ch 1985]

HRS §383-92.5 Worker profiling

383-92.5. Worker profiling The department shall establish and utilize a system of profiling all new claimants for regular compensation in compliance with section 4 of the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1993 (P.L. 103-152) that: (1) Identifies which claimants will be likely to exhaust regular compensation and will need job search assistance services to make a successful transition to new employment; (2) Refers claimants identified pursuant to paragraph (1) to reemployment services, such as job search assistance services, available under any state or federal law; (3) Collects follow-up information relating to the services received by these claimants and the employment outcomes for these claimants subsequent to receiving the services, and utilizes this information in making identifications pursuant to paragraph (1); and (4) Meets other requirements that the Secretary of Labor deems appropriate. [L 1994, c 112, §1]

HRS §383-93 Investigation of unemployment hazard

383-93. Investigation of unemployment hazard The department of labor and industrial relations shall investigate and report upon the degree of unemployment hazard in various industries and occupations and shall recommend to employers in industries or occupations showing an unusual unemployment hazard means for stabilizing employment. It shall also, if necessary, recommend to the legislature a higher rate of tax for any classification of industries or occupations in which unemployment is excessive. [L 1939, c 219, §10(f); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4271; RL 1955, §93-92; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-93]

HRS §383-94 Records and reports

383-94. Records and reports (a) Each employing unit shall keep true and accurate work records, for such periods of time and containing such information as the department of labor and industrial relations may prescribe. The records shall be open to inspection and be subject to being copied by the authorized representatives of the department at any reasonable time and as often as may be necessary. Any authorized representative of the department, or the referee, may require from any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports, with respect to persons employed by it, which such authorized representative, or the referee, deems necessary for the effective administration of this chapter. (b) Each employer shall report all new employees hired subject to procedures prescribed by the department, within five working days after the first day of employment of such individual. If any employer fails to report with respect to a newly hired employee within five working days after the first day of employment, the employer shall pay a penalty in the amount of $10. Effective October 1, 1998, employers need not report all new hires to the department. (c) Each employer shall report the separation of any employee or the wages paid to such employee, or both, upon request of the department within five calendar days from the date that the request was mailed to the employer. If any employer fails to report with respect to the separation of an individual, or the remuneration which the employer paid to the individual, or both, within five calendar days after mailing of notice from the department, the employer shall pay a penalty in the amount of $10. (d) Each employer or employing unit as defined in section 383-1 shall furnish the department with wage information for each employee in accordance with rules as the department of labor and industrial relations may prescribe, except that no report shall be filed with respect to an employee of a state or local agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions, if the head of that agency has determined that filing such a report could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission. Such quarterly wage report shall be filed with the department on or before the last day of the month succeeding the last month of each quarter. Any employer who fails to file a report of wages paid to each of the employer's employees for any period in the manner and within the time prescribed by this chapter and the rules of the department, or any employer who the department finds has filed an insufficient report, shall pay a penalty of $30. (e) Penalties shall be assessed, collected, and paid into the fund in the same manner as contributions. The director, in a case of excusable failure to file any report under this section within the required time, may remit the penalty. [L 1939, c 219, §10(g); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4272; am L 1955, c 51, §1(2); RL 1955, §93-93; am L 1957, c 205, §1(c); am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-94; am L 1969, c 129, §2; am L 1976, c 157, §7; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 32, §5; am L 1997, c 172, §2]

HRS §383-95 Disclosure of information

383-95. Disclosure of information (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, information obtained from any employing unit or individual pursuant to the administration of this chapter and determinations as to the benefit rights of any individual shall be held confidential and shall not be disclosed or be open to public inspection in any manner revealing the individual's or employing unit's identity. Any claimant (or the claimant's legal representative) shall be supplied with information from the records of the department to the extent necessary for the proper presentation of the claimant's claim in any proceeding under this chapter. Subject to restrictions as the director may by rule prescribe, reimbursement of costs to the department incurred in furnishing the information, and the establishment of all safeguards as are necessary to ensure that information furnished by the department is used only for authorized purposes, the information and determinations may be made available to: (1) Any federal or state agency charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law or the maintenance of a system of public employment offices; (2) The Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of the Treasury; (3) Any federal, state, or municipal agency charged with the administration of a fair employment practice or anti-discrimination law; (4) Any other federal, state, or municipal agency if the director deems that the disclosure to the agency serves the public interest; and (5) Any federal, state, or municipal agency if the disclosure is authorized under section 303 of the Social Security Act and section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. (b) Information obtained in connection with the administration of the employment service may be made available to persons or agencies for purposes appropriate to the operation of a public employment service. (c) Upon requests therefor the department shall furnish to any agency of the United States charged with the administration of public works or assistance through public employment, and may furnish to any state agency similarly charged, the name, address, ordinary occupation and employment status of each recipient of benefits and the recipient's rights to further benefits under this chapter. (d) The department may request the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States to cause an examination of the correctness of any return or report of any national banking association rendered pursuant to this chapter, and may in connection with the request transmit any of the report or return to the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States as provided in section 3305(c) of the federal Internal Revenue Code. [L 1939, c 219, §10(g); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4274; RL 1955, §93-94; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-95; am L 1969, c 16, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1997, c 172, §3; am L 2015, c 35, §14]

HRS §383-96 Service

383-96. Service Whenever it is provided herein that any service shall be made upon the department of labor and industrial relations, such service may be made upon the director of labor and industrial relations or upon such representative as the director may have designated for that purpose. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4275; RL 1955, §93-95; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-96]

HRS §383-97 Change of rates

383-97. Change of rates Whenever the department of labor and industrial relations believes that a change in contribution or benefit rates will become necessary to protect the solvency of the fund, it shall promptly so inform the governor and the legislature, and make recommendations with respect thereto. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4276; RL 1955, §93-96; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-97]

HRS §383-98 Referee

383-98. Referee (a) In accordance with section 383-91(b), the director of labor and industrial relations shall appoint one or more referees. (b) Subject to sections 383-125 and 383-126, each referee shall receive a salary as fixed by law, and shall also be paid such reasonable traveling and other expenses as may be incurred in the discharge of the referee's duties, such salary and expenses to be paid out of the employment security administration fund. (c) Section 601-7 relating to disqualification of judges shall be equally applicable to each referee and any substitute referee. (d) In accordance with section 383-91(b), the director may appoint one or more substitute referees to serve[:] (1) During any temporary absence of a referee from the referee's duties; (2) In the event a referee is disqualified to hear any appeal; (3) In the event of vacancy in the office of referee; or (4) If, for any reason, the director finds that the services of substitute referees are necessary for prompt and expeditious handling of appeals. Any substitute referee, while so serving, shall have all the powers and duties of a referee and shall receive compensation for the substitute referee's services at the daily rate provided at step G of the salary range of full-time referees under the classified service for each day's actual attendance upon the substitute referee's duties and shall also be paid such reasonable traveling and other expenses as may be incurred in the discharge of the substitute referee's duties, the compensation and expenses to be paid out of the employment security administration fund. Substitute referees shall not be entitled to longevity step increases. In case any appeal shall be referred to a substitute referee for hearing, the substitute referee shall retain jurisdiction of the appeal so referred to the substitute referee, notwithstanding that the regular referee may become available, unless the reference of the appeal to the substitute referee shall be revoked by the director. The final decisions of a referee and the principles of law declared by the referee in arriving at such decisions, unless expressly or impliedly overruled by a later decision of a court of competent jurisdiction or of a referee, shall be binding upon any substitute referee in proceedings which involve similar questions of law. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4277; am L 1953, c 41, §1(11); RL 1955, §93-97; am L 1961, c 108, §1; am L 1963, c 174, §5; HRS §383-98; am L 1972, c 157, §1; am L 1976, c 126, §1; gen ch 1985]

HRS §383-99 Oaths and subpoenas

383-99. Oaths and subpoenas In the discharge of the duties, imposed by this chapter, the director of labor and industrial relations, any duly authorized representative of the director, the referee, and any substitute referee, shall have the same powers respecting the administration of oaths, compelling the attendance of witnesses, the production of documentary evidence, and examining or causing to be examined witnesses, as are possessed by a circuit court and may take depositions and certify to official acts. Upon application of any of them the circuit court of any circuit or any judge of such court shall have power to enforce by proper proceedings the attendance and testimony of any witness so subpoenaed. Subject to sections 383-125 and 383-126, subpoena and witness fees and mileage in such cases shall be the same as in criminal cases in the circuit courts and the necessary expenses of or in connection with any hearings or investigations shall be paid from the employment security administration fund. [L 1939, c 219, §10(h); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4278; RL 1955, §93-98; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-99; am L 1973, c 31, pt of §21]

HRS §383-100 Protection against self-incrimination

383-100. Protection against self-incrimination No person shall be excused from attending or testifying or producing material, books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records before the director of labor and industrial relations, any duly authorized representative of the director, the referee, or any substitute referee, or in obedience to the subpoena of any of them, in any cause or proceeding before them or any of them, on the grounds that the testimony and evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of the person may tend to incriminate the person or subject the person to a penalty or forfeiture; but no individual shall be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing concerning which the individual is compelled, after having claimed the individual's privilege against self-incrimination, to testify or produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, except that the individual so testifying shall not be exempt from prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying. [L 1939, c 219, §10(i); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4279; RL 1955, §93-99; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-100; gen ch 1985]

HRS §383-101 Relation to chapter 371

383-101. Relation to chapter 371 The provisions of chapter 371 with respect to the adoption, amendment, repeal, and review of rules and regulations shall not apply with respect to rules and regulations under this chapter. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4280; RL 1955, §93-100; HRS §383-101]

HRS §383-102 Preservation and destruction of records

383-102. Preservation and destruction of records (a) The department of labor and industrial relations may cause to be made such summaries, compilations, photographs, duplications, or reproductions of any records, reports, or transcripts thereof as it may deem advisable for the effective and economical preservation of the information contained therein, and such summaries, compilations, photographs, duplications, or reproductions, duly authenticated, shall be admissible in any proceeding under this chapter if the original record or records would have been admissible therein. (b) The department may provide by regulation for the destruction or disposition, after reasonable periods, of any records, reports, transcripts, or reproductions thereof, or other papers in its custody, the preservation of which is no longer necessary for the establishment of contribution liability or benefit rights or for any purpose necessary to the proper administration of this chapter, including any required audit thereof. [L 1943, c 160, §1, subs 9; RL 1945, §4281; RL 1955, §93-101; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-102]

HRS §383-103 Representation in civil and criminal actions

383-103. Representation in civil and criminal actions (a) In any civil action to enforce this chapter, the department of labor and industrial relations and the State may be represented by the attorney general or by any qualified attorney who is employed by the department for that purpose in conformity with section 28-8.3. (b) All criminal actions for violations of this chapter, or of any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto, shall be prosecuted by the attorney general or public prosecutor or county attorney of any county in which the employer has a place of business or the violator resides. [L 1939, c 219, §16; RL 1945, §4293; am L 1953, c 105, §5; RL 1955, §93-102; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-103; am L 1979, c 61, §1; am L Sp 1993, c 8, §53; am L 2015, c 35, §37]

HRS §383-104 State employment service

383-104. State employment service The provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, are accepted by this State and the department of labor and industrial relations is designated and constituted the agency of this State for the purpose of the Act. The department shall establish and maintain free public employment offices in such number and in such places as may be necessary for the proper administration of this chapter and for the purposes of performing such functions as are within the purview of the Wagner-Peyser Act. For the purpose of establishing and maintaining free public employment offices and promoting the use of their facilities, the department may enter into agreements with the Railroad Retirement Board, or any other agency of the United States, or of this or any other state charged with the administration of any law whose purposes are reasonably related to the purposes of this chapter, and as a part of such agreements may accept moneys, services, or quarters as a contribution to the maintenance of the state system of public employment offices or as reimbursement for services performed. All moneys received for such purposes shall be deposited with the director of finance of the State and shall be expended subject to regulations of the federal government and subject to appropriation, budgeting, and accounting requirements of the State. [L 1939, c 219, §11; am L 1941, c 304, §1, subs 33; RL 1945, §4282; RL 1955, §93-103; am L 1957, c 205, §1(f); am L 1959, c 265, pt of §13; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §§14, 27; am L 1963, c 114, §1; HRS §383-104]

HRS §383-105 Federal-state cooperation

383-105. Federal-state cooperation (a) In the administration of this chapter, the department of labor and industrial relations shall cooperate with the United States Department of Labor to the fullest extent consistent with this chapter, and shall take such action, through the adoption of appropriate rules, regulations, administrative methods, and standards, as may be necessary to secure to the State and its citizens all advantages available under the provisions of the Social Security Act, as amended, that relate to unemployment compensation, the federal Unemployment Tax Act, the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, and the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970. (b) In the administration of the provisions in sections 383-168 to 383-174 of this chapter, which are enacted to conform with the requirements of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, the department of labor and industrial relations shall take such action as may be necessary[:] (1) To ensure that the provisions are so interpreted and applied as to meet the requirements of such federal act as interpreted by the United States Department of Labor; and (2) To secure to the State the full reimbursement of the federal share of extended benefits paid under this chapter that are reimbursable under the federal act. [L 1939, c 219, §10(j); am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 32; RL 1945, §4273; am L 1953, c 41, §1(3); RL 1955, §93-104; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-105; am L 1971, c 187, §9]

HRS §383-106 What reciprocal arrangements authorized

383-106. What reciprocal arrangements authorized (a) The department of labor and industrial relations may enter into reciprocal arrangements with appropriate and duly authorized agencies of other states or of the federal government, or both, whereby: (1) Multistate employment. Services performed by an individual for a single employing unit for which services are customarily performed in more than one state shall be deemed to be services performed entirely within any one of the states: (A) In which any part of the individual's service is performed; (B) In which the individual has the individual's residence; or (C) In which the employing unit maintains a place of business; provided there is in effect, as to such services, an election, approved by the agency charged with the administration of the state's unemployment compensation law, pursuant to which all the services performed by the individual for the employing unit are deemed to be performed entirely within the state; (2) Accumulated benefit rights. Potential rights to benefits accumulated under the unemployment compensation laws of one or more states or under one or more such laws of the federal government, or both, may constitute the basis for payment of benefits through a single appropriate agency under terms which the department finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests and will not result in any substantial loss to the fund; (3) Insured work. Wages or services, upon the basis of which an individual may become entitled to benefits under an unemployment compensation law of another state or of the federal government, shall be deemed to be wages for insured work for the purpose of determining the individual's rights to benefits under this chapter, and wages for insured work, on the basis of which an individual may become entitled to benefits under this chapter shall be deemed to be wages or services on the basis of which unemployment compensation under such law of another state or of the federal government is payable, but no such arrangement shall be entered into unless it contains provisions for reimbursements to the fund for such of the benefits paid under this chapter upon the basis of such wages or services and provisions for reimbursements from the fund for such of the compensation paid under such other law upon the basis of wages for insured work, as the department finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests; and (4) Payment of contributions. Contributions due under this chapter with respect to wages for insured work shall for the purposes of sections 383-61 to 383-75 of this chapter be deemed to have been paid to the fund as of the date payment was made as contributions therefor under another state or federal unemployment compensation law, but no such arrangement shall be entered into unless it contains provisions for such reimbursement to the fund of such contributions and the actual earnings thereon as the department finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests. (b) The provisions of subsection (a)(2) of this section and of section 383-107 notwithstanding, the department of labor and industrial relations shall participate in any arrangements for the payment of compensation on the basis of combining an individual's wages and employment covered under this chapter with the individual's wages and employment covered under the unemployment compensation laws of other states which are approved by the United States Secretary of Labor in consultation with the state unemployment compensation agencies as reasonably calculated to assure the prompt and full payment of compensation in such situations and which include provisions for: (1) Applying the base period of a single state law to a claim involving the combining of an individual's wages and employment covered under two or more state unemployment compensation laws; and (2) Avoiding the duplicate use of wages and employment by reason of such combining. [L 1939, c 219, §17; am L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 37; RL 1945, §4294; RL 1955, §93-105; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-106; am L 1971, c 187, §10; gen ch 1985]

HRS §383-107 Reimbursement payments deemed benefits, when

383-107. Reimbursement payments deemed benefits, when Reimbursements paid from the fund pursuant to section 383-106(a)(3) shall be deemed to be benefits for the purpose of sections 383-21 to 383-24, 383-72, 383-76, and 383-121 to 383-124. The department of labor and industrial relations may make to other state or federal agencies and receive from such other state or federal agencies reimbursements from or to the fund, in accordance with arrangements entered into pursuant to section 383-106. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 37; RL 1945, §4295; am L 1953, c 41, §1(1); RL 1955, §93-106; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-107; am L 1969, c 3, §2; am L 1971, c 187, §11]

HRS §383-108 Cooperation with states, etc

383-108. Cooperation with states, etc (a) The administration of this chapter and of other state and federal unemployment compensation and public employment service laws will be promoted by cooperation between this State and such other states and the appropriate federal agencies in exchanging services, and making available facilities and information. The department of labor and industrial relations may therefore make such investigations, secure and transmit such information, make available such services and facilities, and exercise such of the other powers provided herein with respect to the administration of this chapter as it deems necessary or appropriate to facilitate the administration of any such unemployment compensation or public employment service law, and, in like manner, accept and utilize information, services, and facilities made available to this State by the agency charged with the administration of any such other unemployment compensation of public employment service law. (b) The courts of this State shall recognize and enforce liabilities for unemployment contributions, interest, and penalties imposed by other states which extend a like comity to this State. (c) The officials of any state which extend a like comity to this State may bring action in the courts of this State to collect unemployment contributions, interest, and penalties due the state. The certificate of the secretary of the state, or of the nearest equivalent official, that the officials are authorized to collect the contributions, penalties, and interest shall be conclusive evidence of the authority. (d) The attorney general may commence action in any other state by and in the name of the department to collect contributions, interest, and penalties legally due this State. (e) The attorney general may commence action in this State as agent for and on behalf of any other state which extends a like comity to this State to enforce judgments and liabilities for unemployment contributions, interest, and penalties due the state. (f) If the agency which administers the employment security law of another state has overpaid unemployment benefits to an individual located in Hawaii and certifies to the department that the individual is liable under its law to repay the benefits and requests the department to recover the overpayment, the attorney general may commence action in the courts of this State to recover the overpayment as agent for and on behalf of the other state. The courts of this State shall entertain the action to collect the overpayment. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 37; RL 1945, §4296; RL 1955, §93-107; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; am L 1967, c 15, §1; HRS §383-108]

HRS §383-109 Cooperation with foreign governments

383-109. Cooperation with foreign governments To the extent permissible under the laws and Constitution of the United States, the department of labor and industrial relations may enter into or cooperate in arrangements whereby facilities and services provided under this chapter, and facilities and services provided under the unemployment compensation law of any foreign government, may be utilized for the taking of claims and the payment of benefits under the employment security law of this State or under a similar law of such government. [L 1941, c 304, §1, pt of subs 37; RL 1945, §4297; RL 1955, §93-108; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §27; HRS §383-109]

HRS §383-110 Personnel security program; criminal history record

383-110. Personnel security program; criminal history record checks.] (a) The department shall establish a personnel security program that ensures a background investigation is completed at the appropriate level designated by the federal government for any individual who will have access to federal tax information, including a contractor and its employees or agents, if prior authority to access federal tax information has been provided by the United States Department of the Treasury. This program shall include criminal history record checks in accordance with section 846-2.7. Information obtained pursuant to this subsection shall be used exclusively by the department for the purpose of determining whether the person is suitable for accessing federal tax information in accordance with applicable federal laws. (b) The department may terminate or deny employment to any employee or applicant, or terminate or refuse to secure the services of a contractor and its employees or agents authorized under subsection (a), if the department finds by reason of the background investigation conducted under subsection (a) that the employee, applicant, contractor, or contractor's employees or agents pose a risk to the security of federal tax information. Termination or denial of employment under this subsection shall only occur after appropriate notification to the employee, applicant, or contractor of the findings of the background investigation, and after the employee, applicant, or contractor is given an opportunity to meet and rebut the findings. Nothing in this subsection shall abrogate any applicable appeal rights under chapters 76 and 89, or administrative rules of the department. (c) The department shall be exempt from section 831-3.1 and need not conduct investigations, notifications, or hearings under this section in accordance with chapter 91. [L 2017, c 132, §4]

Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0383/HRS_0383-.htmFetched: 11/10/2026