Report Title:

Use of sick leave for family leave

Description:

Requires an employer who provides sick leave for employees to use up to ten days of the employee's accrued and available sick leave for family leave purposes in a single calendar year, except when the use of sick leave for family leave purposes is subject to a valid collective bargaining agreement. Defines "sick leave" under the Family Leave Law (Chapter 398, Hawaii Revised Statutes).

 

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

389

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to family leave.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that existing law does not require an employer to permit an employee to use sick leave to attend to the illness of a child, parent, spouse, or reciprocal beneficiary.

The purpose of this Act is to require an employer who provides sick leave for employees to permit employees to use up to ten days of the employee's accrued and available sick leave for family leave purposes in a single calendar year, except when the use of sick leave for family leave purposes is subject to a valid collective bargaining agreement.

The legislature intends that no employer deny an employee the right to use sick leave, discharge, or threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an employee for exercising the employee's right to use sick leave to attend to a child, parent, spouse, or reciprocal beneficiary with a serious health condition.

SECTION 2. Section 398-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding the definition of "sick leave" to read as follows:

""Sick leave" means accrued increments of compensated leave provided by an employer to an employee for use by the employee for any of the following reasons:

(1) The employee is physically or mentally unable to perform the employee's duties due to illness, injury, or a medical condition of the employee;

(2) The absence is for the purpose of obtaining professional diagnosis or treatment for a medical condition of the employee; or

(3) The absence is for other medical reasons of the employee, such as pregnancy or obtaining a physical examination.

"Sick leave" does not include any benefit provided under an employee welfare benefit plan subject to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and does not include any insurance benefit, workers' compensation benefit, unemployment compensation disability benefit, or benefit not payable from the employer."

SECTION 3. Section 398-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§398-4 Unpaid leave permitted; relationship to paid leave[.]; sick leave. (a) Pursuant to section 398-3, an employee shall be entitled to four weeks of family leave. The family leave shall consist of unpaid leave, paid leave, or a combination of paid and unpaid leave. If an employer provides paid family leave for fewer than four weeks, the additional period of leave added to attain the four-week total may be unpaid.

(b) [An] Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), an employee or employer may elect to substitute any of the employee's accrued paid leaves [such as sick,], including but not limited to vacation, personal, or family leave for any part of the four-week period in subsection (a)[; provided that an employer or employee may not substitute an employee's accrued sick leave in any situation under this chapter unless:

(1) Sick leave is normally granted for such purposes by an employer's policy or practice; or

(2) Upon mutual agreement by the employer and the employee].

(c) Except as otherwise provided pursuant to chapters 89, 89C, or any valid collective bargaining agreement, an employer who provides sick leave for employees shall permit an employee to use in any calendar year, the employee's accrued and available sick leave; provided that an employee shall not use more than ten days per year for this purpose."

SECTION 4. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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