State FMLA - Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 398-1 TO 398-11; Haw. Code R. § 12-27-1 et seq.

Covered Employers: All employers who employ one hundred or more employees for each working day during each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Employee Eligibility: A person who performs services for hire for not fewer than six consecutive months for the employer

Entitlement: An employee shall be entitled to a total of four weeks of family leave during any 12-month period, upon the birth of a child of the employee or the adoption of a child, or to care for the employee's child, spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, or parent with a serious health condition. Leave may be taken intermittently. An employer may determine the size of the shortest intermittent leave increment, so long as it is on hour or less.

"Serious health condition" means a physical or mental condition that warrants the participation of the employee to provide care during the period of treatment or supervision by a health care provider, and involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or requires continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.

A "parent" includes a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a step-parent, a legal guardian, a grandparent, or a grandparent-in-law.

An employee's entitlement to leave for the birth of a child expires twelve months after the birth. Family leave need not be taken immediately upon birth, placement, or commencement of a serious health condition.

Employer Notice: A covered employer must notify their employees in writing at the time of hire of their rights and responsibilities under Hawaii Family leave. In addition, every employer shall post and keep posted notices clearly setting forth the rights of employees provided by this chapter, in a form prescribed by the director, in conspicuous places in every establishment where any employee is employed, so as to permit the employee to readily observe a copy.

Employee Notice: In any case in which the necessity for family leave is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with prior notice of the expected birth or adoption or serious health condition in a manner that is reasonable and practicable. If the need for leave is not foreseeable the employee must provide notice within 2 working days of the commencement of the leave.

Obligation to Provide Certifications or Documents Supporting Need for Leave: An employer may require that a claim for family leave be supported by written certification. For the birth of a child, certification shall be issued by a health care provider or the family court. For the placement of a child for adoption with the employee, certification shall be issued by a recognized adoption agency, the attorney handling the adoption, or by the individual officially designated by the birth parent to select and approve the adoptive family. When leave is to care for a child, spouse,sibling or parent who has a serious health condition, certification shall be issued by the health care provider of the individual requiring care. Certification shall be considered sufficient if it provides information as required by the director.

Paid? Unpaid. If unpaid leave conflicts with the unreduced compensation requirement for exempt employees under the federal FLSA, an employer may require the employee to make up the leave within the same pay period.

An employee may elect to substitute any of the employee's accrued paid leaves, including but not limited to, vacation, personal, or family leave, but excluding sick leave, for any part of the four-week period.

An employer who provides sick leave for employees shall permit an employee to use the employee's accrued and available sick leave for purposes of this chapter; provided that an employee shall not use more than ten days per year for this purpose, unless an express provision of a valid collective bargaining agreement authorizes the use of more than ten days of sick leave for family leave purposes.

Benefits: Taking Hawaii Family leave may not result in the loss of benefits accrued before the date on which the leave commenced, except for any paid leave that may have been expended in conjunction with the family leave.

Reinstatement: Upon return from family leave, the employee shall be entitled to be restored by the employer to the position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced, or restored to an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Other Important Definitions/Requirements: The term "reciprocal beneficiaries" means two adults who meet the following requisites for a valid reciprocal beneficiary relationship.

Absence Specifications