New laws give public worker raises, support for caregivers
New laws that provide raises for tens of thousands of state and county workers and to ensure that family caregivers get extra support from hospitals are among the measures that take effect today as the new state fiscal year begins.
Other measures that took effect at midnight provide tens of millions of dollars in state subsidies for three Maui County hospitals that are slated to be privatized today, and will offer a new source of funding for the state Department of Education’s initiative to cool public school classrooms.
State lawmakers earmarked funds for settlements and arbitration decisions that provide pay raises and additional fringe benefits for public workers that will cost the state $102 million in the fiscal year that begins today and $239 million in the year that begins July 1, 2018, according to state Director of Finance Wesley Machida.
The public workers who won those raises and extra fringe benefits include the state’s public school teachers, university faculty and staff, public school principals, registered nurses and technical and scientific staff.
Read more: http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/07/01/hawaii-news/new-laws-give-public-worker-raises-support-for-caregivers/?HSA=bedb4ff6398ed467dbc8ffd3ab2a038df9bd0f14