Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
02/19/2025 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Child Care Update | |
| HB23 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 23 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 23-APPLICABILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
3:57:41 PM
[CO-CHAIR HALL announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 23, "An Act relating to the definition of
'employer' for the purposes of the State Commission for Human
Rights."]
3:58:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, presented HB 23. He began by stating that HB 23
would make non-profit organizations subject to the jurisdiction
of the [Alaska State Commission on Human Rights (ASCHR)]
regarding claims of discrimination related principally to
employment. He further remarked that there are currently 44,000
citizens not protected under Alaska law from discrimination. He
asserted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC), a federal agency, provides nominal protections to these
individuals not currently protected by ASCHR. He further
asserted that protection under EEOC is inadequate. He explained
that Robert Corbisier, the director of ASCHR, brought HB 23 to
his attention. He reported that ASCHR completed unanimous
resolutions in support of the provisions of HB 23 and pointed
out that all of the current appointees [of ASCHR] are from
Governor Mike Dunleavy. He gave an anecdote about why the
proposed legislation is necessary for the protection of
employees of non-profit organizations, explaining that [ASCHR]
screens complaints [of violations] and facilitates conciliation
between employee and employer. He concluded be giving an
overview of past iterations of the proposed legislation and
suggestions for change [to HB 23] from ASCHR.
4:04:12 PM
KEN ALPER, Staff, Representative Andy Josephson, Alaska State
Legislature, gave a PowerPoint [hard copy included in the
committee file], titled "HB 23: Applicability of Human Rights
Commission" on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime sponsor
of HB 23. He began an overview of ASCHR on slide 2, which read
as follows:
• State agency that enforces the Alaska civil rights
laws in AS 18.80
• Seven commissioners appointed by the Governor and
confirmed by the Legislature
• Small staff and office in Anchorage
• Statewide powers to accept and investigate complaints
for individuals across all regions of the state
Mission Statement:
To eliminate and prevents discrimination for all
Alaskans
In Alaska, it is illegal to discriminate in:
• Employment
• Places of Public Accommodation
• Sale or Rental of Real Property
• Financing and Credit
• Practices by the State or its Political Subdivisions
Because of:
• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• National Origin
• Disability
MR ALPER moved to slide 3, an overview of the jurisdiction of
various human rights groups, including ASHRC, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) protects non-profit employees from
discrimination if the employer has at least 15
employees
Municipal commissions, like the Anchorage Equal
Rights Commission (AERC) and the Juneau Human Rights
Commission (JHRC), cover non-profit employees in those
communities
The State commission has no jurisdiction to
accept or pursue discrimination cases brought to them
by non-profit employees
(This is due to language in the definition
of "employer" in the ASHRC statutes, AS 18.80.300(5))
MR. ALPER clarified that a non-profit is not currently included
under the definition of "employer" for ASHRC. Specifically, a
non-profit with fewer than 15 employees, which constitutes the
majority of non-profits according to Mr. Alper, could not seek
help from ASHRC for discrimination.
MR. ALPER moved to slide 4, drawing committee members' attention
to a bar graph representing a breakdown of the types of non-
profit jobs in Alaska. He noted that a study from the Foraker
Group reported that there are 5,688 non-profits in Alaska, with
35,302 directly employed persons - roughly 12 percent of the
state's workforce. He further noted that only one-fourth of the
non-profits have more than a single employee, stating HB 23
would not apply to the other three-fourths [non-profits with a
single person].
MR. ALPER moved to slide 5, drawing committee members' attention
to an annual report from ASCHR. He highlighted one of its
legislative priorities, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
"Work with the State Legislature to add non-profits to
ASCHR's jurisdiction in an effort to include
protections for 44,000 currently unprotected workers"
MR. ALPER moved to slide 6 and gave an overview of the
provisions under HB 23, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
What does the bill do?
Exactly what the commission asked for in their
resolution
Changes definition of "employer" to include non-
profit organizations
The change in HB23 only applies to the State
Commission for Human Rights [AS 18.80.300(5)]
Retains the exceptions for religious and
fraternal organizations
MR. ALPER moved to slide 7, giving on overview of other
recommendations/requests from ASCHR, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
1. Additional / alternative clarifying language in
the definition of "employer"
2. Change name of the commission to the Alaska State
Commission for Civil Rights
3. New statute saying that the governor can only
remove a commissioner for cause (incompetence,
neglect, misconduct, etc.)
4. Change the timing of their annual report to
November 15, and allow for it to be provided
electronically
All these changes were incorporated into a previous
version of this bill by the House Judiciary Committee
on 5/8/23, as work draft CSHB181(JUD)\U
MR. ALPER concluded by inviting questions from committee
members.
4:09:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON indicated he would welcome all four
additional changes, cited on slide 7 of the PowerPoint, which
ASCHR requested in its report.
4:10:24 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL noted that Robert Corbisier, the executive
director of ASCHR, was available for questions.
4:10:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER queried why the four additional changes,
cited on slide 7 of the PowerPoint, are not included in the
current version of the proposed legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON offered his primary objective of
covering non-profits but welcomed the additional changes. He
spoke to one recommendation for change: changing the name of
the commission to the Alaska State Commission for Civil Rights.
He explained that the commission receives phone calls regarding
matters that it cannot attend to [human rights abuses] and
believes the name change would "speak better to their mission."
He urged members to entertain the proposed changes and noted
that the additional changes have bipartisan support.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER repeated his question.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON replied that his decision not to
include the additional changes was incidental.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER additionally asked what ASCHR does that
EEOC does not do.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON stated that he is trying to expand, not
change, the jurisdiction of ASCHR [to include non-profits]. He
gave an anecdote about people with red hair as an example of
possible discrimination.
4:14:23 PM
MR. ALPER added that proposed legislation would allow ASCHR to
cover employees working for non-profits with fewer than 15
employees, which EEOC currently does not cover.
4:14:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE asked if non-profits were aware of HB 23
and whether there had been any opposition to the proposed
legislation from non-profits.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON stated he had an informal conversation
with Laurie Wolf, president and CEO of the Foraker Group, who
shared some concerns about the changes [to ASCHR]. He stated
that the proposed legislation is bipartisan due to its
reintroductions and changes over the years.
4:16:14 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that HB 23 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Child Care House Labor Commerce 2.19.25.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
Informational Presentation-Dept of Health Child Care Update |
| 1 HB23 Sponsor Statement 2.11.2025.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |
| 2 HB 23 Sectional Analysis 2.11.2025.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |
| 3 HB0023A.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |
| 4 HB23 Supporting Document- NCSL Table Employment Discrimination Statutes.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |
| 5 HB23 Supporting Document- ASCHR resolution 2022-4.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |
| 7 HB23 Supporting Document Foraker Group Presentation.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |
| 8 HB23 Supporting Document-Sponsor PPT 2.18.2025.pdf |
HL&C 2/19/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 23 |