Paid family and medical leave is a topic that has come up at the state Legislature on and off for over 20 years, and we’re closer now than we’ve ever been to make it a reality.

A recent survey revealed that 90% of Hawai‘i voters statewide support paid family and medical leave. We have heard stories from parents who would benefit from paid time off to spend time with their new child and how this benefit would be vital for young families.

With Hawai‘i‘s rapidly growing kūpuna population, we hear even more stories of adult children who are stretched to the breaking point trying to take care of an elderly parent while also holding down a demanding job or taking care of their own children. Paid time off would provide a welcome breather for these stressed-out workers to figure out how to navigate the myriad hoops to care for their loved ones.

We all agree that the stories are moving, and the issues are real, but that is as far as we’ve gotten. How to implement a paid family and medical leave program has been the stumbling block.

However, after conducting extensive research and drawing lessons from the 13 other states and the District of Columbia that have government-run paid family and medical leave programs, along with listening to each other’s concerns, we now have a proposed plan (House Bill 755) to move forward in the Legislature.

This proposal will not create a financial burden for the state, while helping employers and employees weather those times when workers need to take time off to care for themselves or their families.

A Social Insurance Program

As proposed in the bill, paid family and medical leave would resemble social insurance programs like Social Security or Medicare. Small payroll contributions would fund a statewide paid family and medical leave benefit program for Hawai‘i, including the state’s administrative cost.

Similar to health insurance, employers could cover the entire cost of the premiums for this new benefit, or they could have their employees cover up to half of the standard premium cost.

Employers with fewer than five employees would need to pay only half of the standard premium, and they could ask their employees to cover the entire contribution. Self-employed workers could opt into the program, and they also would only need to pay half of the standard level.
If the bill passes into law, a minimum wage earner would pay less than $2 per week and receive $504 per week in benefits from the program, if their employer matches the employee’s contribution.

An average wage earner who makes about $62,000 per year would pay a little over $4 per week and receive $930 per week in benefits, again assuming the employer is matching the employee’s contribution.

The proposed program would offer up to 12 weeks of family leave to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member, as well as up to 26 weeks for one’s own serious medical needs, which is the current amount available in temporary disability insurance. Documentation would be required to verify the need for leave, just as doctors currently have to sign off on TDI.

Here’s the best part: the program would save employers money. In addition to the benefits from increased workforce productivity and retention, they would no longer need to pay their employees when they take family leave (because employees would be paid by the state program) and they also would no longer need to purchase and administer TDI policies, as the statewide paid family and medical leave program would include TDI.

With shared costs in a statewide program, employers would end up paying less for much more robust benefits than what they are paying for now with TDI. It’s a win-win for both employers and employees.

Studies show paid family and medical leave also helps employees to be more financially resilient, reducing reliance on public assistance such as SNAP benefits, as well as more productive at their workplaces. At a time when funding for these types of federal programs is questionable, paid family and medical leave for our state couldn’t come at a better time.