Hawaii Human Trafficking Bill One Step From Governor's Desk

Sara Lin/Civil Beat

Hawaii may well be on its way to finally putting a human trafficking statute on the books.

House Bill 141, which would criminalize labor trafficking, cleared its last major hurdle Tuesday, passing out of conference committee. The measure heads back to the full House for a final reading and may well be on its way to the governor's desk.

"This is really, really important. It sends a strong message, the right message, to employers with workers in the state of Hawaii that the state recognizes this as an issue and recognizes labor trafficking as a crime," said Clare Hanusz, a lawyer who represents alleged labor trafficking victims.

"With this law will come law enforcement training. And so people who are on the front lines will hopefully be trained to recognize trafficking when they see it. Or, trained in what questions to ask to look for trafficking," she said.

Hawaii remains one of four states that does not have a human trafficking bill. Yet it certainly has seen its share of human trafficking problems in recent months. Last week, the EEOC filed a discrimination suit against six Hawaii farms and Global Horizons, a labor contractor, for unfair employment practices.

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