Mention paid family and medical leave to a business and you will usually get a grimace, eyeball roll, and an exasperated knee-jerk response. They rattle off a litany of woes that already make it challenging to run a business in Hawai’i.

Razor-thin margins, the impending minimum wage increase next year, ever-increasing health insurance premiums. Imposing the “burden” of additional labor-related costs that eat into their company’s bottom line is out of the question for them.

But paid family and medical leave deserves a closer look and is long overdue in our state. That’s not something you would expect from a small business owner like me, but there are sound, practical reasons every business should support this benefit, including that it can save employers money.

I have to pay my fair share of costs like any other business operating in Hawai‘i, including health insurance premiums, temporary disability insurance, and everything else. It can be tough.

But covering the pay for valuable employees who need to take legitimate leave from work far outweighs the cost of losing them.

‘The Right Thing To Do’

About two years ago, one of my employees who had been with me for about three years learned she was pregnant.

She was a great employee. Highly skilled, knowledgeable, and able to connect well with clients. Her productivity was outstanding. She had all the qualities we all want in employees, which are not easy to find, especially in this tight labor market. I couldn’t afford to lose this valuable employee.

Businesses often overlook the hidden costs involved with recruiting, onboarding and training someone new. It made financial sense for me to continue paying my employee while she was on extended maternity leave — out of my own pocket — so that she could spend time with her newborn and take care of herself before returning back to work. It was the right thing to do for her and for my business.

At a time when “equity” is becoming a forbidden word and being erased from our federal laws, paid family and medical leave in Hawai‘i helps to level the playing field for women who may be seen as a liability for companies when they have children.
For those business owners who say that’s all good, but every business is different, here’s something to seriously consider: paid family and medical leave could function like an insurance program.

Employers would all share in the costs to benefit our employees. The return on our investment would more than be made up when our employees need the benefit.

Every employee would have the assurance that they can continue to receive paychecks while they take care of a new child, a frail elder, another family member with a serious illness, or even themselves. And if employees are willing to pay a portion of this, it would be a win-win for everyone as we would all share in the costs and benefits.

Let’s not be too quick to dismiss paid family and medical leave. It could be a catalyst for positive change that lifts up everyone in Hawai‘i.