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Supporters believe paid family leave is long overdue for Hawaii.

More help for long-term care, child care and elder care in Hawaii, they note, has been urged by various and other reports for well over a decade now. Those challenges became even more difficult during the recent coronavirus pandemic.

But the Hawaii Legislature has been slow to embrace the idea of paid family leave, pressured by small businesses that worry about the added costs to their operations and powerful labor groups arguing that businesses, and not the state, should pay for such a program.

On Wednesday afternoon, however, two Senate committees approved one of the paid family leave measures, while a similar measure advanced in the House.

The rationale for passing SB 2474 — which has more committee hurdles to clear — is due in no small part to a growing awareness of the challenges people of all generations face, especially those who are raising kids while also starting to care for parents and grandparents.

It’s a problem for nearly everyone except perhaps the most well off, and lawmakers acknowledge that they are hearing cries for help from many corners of the state.

‘Much-Needed Assistance’

Those burdens were severely compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, showing just how vulnerable workers and families are to a virulent disease, Josh Frost, said backing SB 2474.

“Not only would a public paid family leave program provide much needed assistance to Hawaii’s ‘essential workers’ who live paycheck to paycheck and are predominantly women and people of color, it could also prove useful in protecting customers and coworkers from catching and spreading contagious illnesses,” wrote Frost, a policy assistant with American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.

SB 2474 would provide family leave insurance benefits and extend the period of family leave to 16 weeks for businesses — it is now four weeks of unpaid leave — that employ one or more employees who meet hourly qualifications. It would eliminate a threshold of 100 employees for employers to be subject to the family leave law. And it would establish an insurance fund that would consist of employer and employee contributions.

The opposition to the legislation, however, is formidable. It includes influential organizations advocating for businesses such as Retail Merchants of Hawaii, the Hawaii Restaurant Association and the National Federation of Independent Business’ Hawaii Chapter.

There has also been pushback from state agencies that would be tasked with establishing and running a paid family leave program. A major concern is the need for more staff and technological support — another major cost, this one covered by taxpayers.

Formidable Opposition

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which would be tasked with setting up and running the program, says a new law would require significant staffing and information technology needs. It worries that the rate of contribution to the fund would be tied to the rate of contribution to a Temporary Disability Insurance fund, which does not currently exist.

The state Attorney General’s Office says the legislation is not clear on how the trust fund would be funded. And the Department of Budget and Finance suggests that it might be best to first conduct an operational study of the resources DLIR would need before implementing a program.

“Employers want to take care of their employees, but there has to also be a balance to what businesses can afford,” , president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. “Many employers already offer benefits that include significant paid time off to those employees who have earned it in addition to the mandated family leave for employees to care for their family who are ill and ensure that their jobs are secure when they return to work.”

Some of those businesses are trying to cope with the new $14 an hour minimum wage that went into effect last month.

The measure has divided powerful labor unions.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association supports the bill, pointing to statistics that indicate workers who have access to family leave benefits are more likely to return to work after the leave is over.

But the United Public Workers and the Hawaii Government Employees Association do not want the bill passed. While the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid family leave each year, HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira says paid family and medical leave should be entirely .

‘Unpaid Heroes’

Still, lawmakers seem increasingly sympathetic to other financial concerns. AARP Hawaii estimates that there are 154,000 family caregivers in Hawaii who provide $2.6 billion of unpaid care each year.

“These unpaid heroes manage medications, prepare meals, help with bathing, feeding and dressing, providing transportation to medical appointments, and managing financial and legal matters to care for loved ones and keep them out of costly nursing homes,” said AARP Hawaii State Director Kealii Lopez.

That leads to not only huge losses in income on top of additional financial challenges related to caregiving, but can also put career advancement and retirement savings at risk.

Hawaii is also feeling pressured to join a national trend toward providing paid family leave.

Nicole Woo, director of Research and Economic Policy for Hawaii Children’s Action Network, says the United States is the only developed country without national paid family leave. California was the first state to pass paid family leave some 20 years ago, and today 13 states and the District of Columbia have similar laws.

Most of those states, Woo explained, use a payroll deduction system similar to Social Security and Medicare. Woo thinks a fair system for Hawaii would be to split the paid family leave costs 50-50 between the state and employers.

Sen. Henry Aquino, chair of the House Committee on Labor and Technology, said SB 2474 would have a number of amendments. They include ones that heed the recommendations of state agencies, such as adding a number of staff positions to DLIR that could cost nearly $16 million. Another $60 million could be appropriated to pay for IT needs.

The measure will next go to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where members — if they hear the bill — are likely to carefully consider how much the state can afford. The WAM committee often determines the fate of many measures, both during the hearing process and then the conference committee phase near the end of session in late April.

Other Bills

SB 2474 is not the only paid family leave legislation pending before lawmakers. A similar measure, , passed through its second committee — the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce — on Wednesday. It has some of the same supporters and opponents as the Senate bill, and for some of the same reasons.

HB 2757 would have DLIR set up a family and medical leave insurance program and begin collecting payroll contributions to pay for benefits starting in January 2027. A year later, the department would start receiving claims and paying benefits under the program.

“Up to 40% of people in the workforce are not eligible for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act — and many cannot afford to take unpaid leave,” testified Gary Simon, a member of the Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition. “Lack of paid family leave can lead to financial strain and negative workplace impacts for caregivers. Paid leave programs result in better health outcomes and lower overall health care system costs.”

United Public Workers state director Kalani Werner said the appreciates the intention of the bill but the benefit should be fully paid by the employer. “We simply cannot support legislation that would
result in additional financial burden for our membership,” Werner .

Rep. Scot Matayoshi, chair of the House Committee on Labor and Government Operations, earlier this month to address some of the same concerns raised by critics of paid family leave.

At a recent press conference at the Capitol Rotunda, surrounded by paid family leave supporters holding signs and wearing color-coordinated T-shirts, Matayoshi and his colleagues expressed hope that 2024 might be the year for paid family leave — so long as they can figure out how to pay for it.

Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by , Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, the Cooke Foundation and .