Christen Zulli works in health and wellness and lives with her family near Hilo. But she has put her career on hold.

That’s because her husband, who has a background in marine engineering, was let go from a job five years ago and was forced to take work on a ship that is often out to sea 90 days at a time or longer.

Zulli is now the primary caretaker of their two elementary school-age children while also working part-time as a counselor for women who hope to have kids of their own. Add to that the fact that Zulli’s father, who recently moved to the Big Island from Pennsylvania, is beginning to show early signs of dementia.

The cost of placing him in assisted living is beyond Zulli’s financial capabilities.

“This is all something that my husband and I have had to experience — sort of the dissolution of our family unit,” she said, noting that he has missed kids’ birthdays, first steps and first words.

Zulli supports legislation that would have the state of Hawaiʻi establish a family and medical leave insurance program and collect payroll contributions to finance payment of benefits to employees who are eligible, including:

• someone caring for a new child during the first year after birth, adoption or placement;
• someone caring for a family member with a serious health condition;
• someone caring for a qualifying service member who is the individual’s next of kin; or
• someone who is a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking who needs leave for medical attention, counseling, victim services, court appearances or relocation for themselves or a family member.

Under the bill’s criteria it would be too late for Zulli and her husband to tap the funds, but paid time off could conceivably help with caring for her father.

AARP Hawaiʻi, which is lobbying hard for the legislation — there are several paid family leave bills pending — reports that 38 million Americans nationwide spent 36 billion hours in 2021 caring for adults with chronic, disabling or serious health conditions. The economic value of the care is estimated at $600 billion.

The crisis is particularly acute for people like Zulli, so-called “Sandwich Generation” caregivers caring for two generations of family. The group, says AARP, increasingly includes Gen Z (people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) and millennials (born between 1981 and 1996).

AARP Hawai‘i estimates there are 154,000 unpaid family caregivers in the state who provide the equivalent of $2.6 billion of care for free.

“Not all of them are necessarily working, but a good number of them have had to adjust their work schedule or quit their job to be able to care for a loved one,” said the organization’s state director, Keali‘i Lopez. “We believe Hawaiʻi cares a great deal about ‘ohana, so it’s about time to begin supporting family caregivers.”

“We believe Hawaiʻi cares a great deal about ‘ohana, so it’s about time to begin supporting family caregivers.”

Keali‘i Lopez, state director of AARP Hawaiʻi

Paid leave legislation proposals have failed for seven years running. The opposition comes from public-sector unions, restaurants, retailers and state agencies, and it primarily has to do with cost and implementation.

That resistance is being stirred up again by House Bill 755, the only paid leave bill to have been heard by lawmakers so far this session. It is one of the top bills of the Keiki Caucus, a collaboration of state legislators, community leaders and other groups that seek to improve the lives of Hawaiʻi’s young people. A bipartisan Working Families Caucus also supports paid family leave, although it is prioritizing a separate but similar measure, House Bill 695.

Under HB 755, it would be possible for Hawai‘i employees to get paid time off to take care of loved ones without fearing a loss of pay or employment.

Nicole Woo, director of research and economic policy for Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network Speaks!, told House legislators in written testimony and in person that the U.S. is the only developed country without national paid leave. In those other countries, the benefits last an average of about a year.

The program, if implemented, would be paid for through a state fund financed by payroll deductions. Woo said the deduction would be paid through a 50-50 split between most employers and employees, similar to Social Security and Medicare.

“California was the first state to pass paid family leave, about 20 years ago. Hawai‘i should join them.”

Nicole Woo, a director with Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network Speaks!

Workers would apply for the funds when they need leave time. Employers would not need to pay the workers on leave or purchase temporary disability insurance.

Woo said 13 states and the District of Columbia have a paid family leave system.

“California was the first state to pass paid family leave, about 20 years ago,” she testified. “Hawai‘i should join them.”

Some retailers and restaurants don’t want that to happen. In their testimony on HB 755, they note that many Hawaiʻi employers already offer benefits that include paid time off to workers, including to take care of sick family members.

Hawaiʻi also mandates insurance coverage for workers’ health care. And many businesses are still struggling in the wake of the pandemic and high costs due to inflation.

The Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association and United Public Workers, meanwhile, believe family and medical leave should be paid 100% by the employer — in their cases, state government.

“Adding an additional payroll deduction will cause financial constraint for our members, which may push them to their financial breaking point,” testified Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association Executive Director Randy Perreira. “We cannot justify that for a program that members must pay into and may not take advantage of.”

Perreira said in written testimony that if the bill passes, public sector employees should be exempt from the program.

Brenna Hashimoto, director of the state Department of Human Resources Development, said she too worries how additional costs would impact the “already generous benefits package” for state employees. She pointed out that employees can earn up to 14 hours of sick and vacation leave per month, and that there is no limit to how much unused sick leave they can accumulate.

The agency that would end up implementing and running the paid leave program has also expressed concern.

Jade Butay, director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, told lawmakers his agency would need 120 additional staff members to implement and administer the program. As currently drafted, HB 755 provides no funding for procurement and development of a computer system for the program.

Lopez, of AARP, said advocates of paid leave are working with lawmakers and the labor department to address their concerns.

She argued that HB 755 will benefit workers, employers and the economy “by helping family caregivers remain at their jobs.” When caregivers can’t continue balancing work and caregiving, she said, employers lose experienced workers.

Set for a vote in the House Labor Committee on Tuesday, HB755 has the support of the chair, Rep. Jackson Sayama, who is also the lead author of the bill.

“I think the people of the state of Hawaiʻi want and need a paid family leave program,” Sayama told testifiers on the bill Thursday. “And so my intention is to pass this out with amendments.”

The bill would still have to clear two more committees before passing over to the Senate. A Senate companion bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

Two similar family and medical leave insurance program bills — Senate Bill 1054 and Senate Bill 852 — have also yet to be heard and face a mid-February deadline to advance.