Hawaii-2019-HB1343-Amended

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that approximately sixty-three thousand children under age eighteen live in homes where householders are grandparents or other relatives. Approximately forty-seven thousand of these children live with grandparents. The legislature also finds that there is a growing number of grandparents raising grandchildren and who are primary caretakers of their grandchildren. While Hawaii's family leave law allows employees to take family leave upon the birth of the employee's child, the employee's adoption of a child, or to care for the employee's child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, or a parent with a serious condition, family leave does not extend to care for employees' grandchildren.

The purpose of this Act is to extend family leave in the State to include care for grandchildren.

SECTION 2. Chapter 398, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§398-A Family leave requirement; grandparents. (a) An employee who is a grandparent shall be entitled to a total of one week of family leave during any calendar year to care for the employee's grandchild with a serious health condition.

(b) During each calendar year, the leave may be taken intermittently.

(d) If unpaid leave under this chapter conflicts with the unreduced compensation requirement for exempt employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer may require the employee covered by this section to make up the leave within the same pay period.

(e) Nothing in this chapter shall entitle an employee covered by this section to more than a total of one week of leave in any twelve-month period.

§398-B Unpaid leave permitted; relationship to paid leave; sick leave; grandparents. (a) Pursuant to section 398-A, an employee who is a grandparent shall be entitled to one week 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 one week, the additional period of leave added to attain the one-week total may be unpaid.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), an employee may elect to substitute any of the employee's accrued paid leaves, including but not limited to vacation, personal, or family leave for any part of the one-week period in subsection (a).

(c) 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 covered by this section shall not use more than seven days per year for this purpose, unless an express provision of a valid collective bargaining agreement authorizes the use of more than seven days of sick leave for family leave purposes of this section. Nothing in this section shall require an employer to diminish an employee's accrued and available sick leave below the amount required pursuant to section 392-41; provided that any sick leave in excess of the minimum statutory equivalent for temporary disability benefits as determined by the department may be used for purposes of this chapter."

SECTION 3. Section 398-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§398-5 Notice. In any case in which the necessity for family leave for purposes of birth or adoption of a child or providing care to a child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild, or parent 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. Requests for family leave shall include evidence that the employee has submitted the request and provided required data in accordance with section 398-9.5."

SECTION 4. Section 398-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) When leave is to care for a child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild, 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."

SECTION 5. Section 398-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) [~~Section~~] Sections 398-3 and 398-A shall set [a] minimum [~~standard~~] standards that [is] are not intended to replace family leave policies that exist as of the effective date of this Act and that provide for equal or greater employment benefits than those benefits afforded under this chapter."

SECTION 6. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1343
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1