Hawaii has a leave law called the Hawaii Family Leave Law (HFLL), which provides unpaid, job-protected leave for parental and family care leave reasons.

Additionally, Hawaii has a law called the Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance (HI TDI), which provides income replacement benefits when an employee requires leave for their own medical condition. HI TDI does not provide job-protection. Thus, there is no specific leave of absence law in Hawaii that provides job-protection for an employee’s own serious health condition.

Employers with Hawaii employees are required to provide HI TDI pay benefits through an insured plan. This means insuring the benefits via a private insurance carrier. Employers can also apply with the HI Disability Compensation Division to become a provider of self-insured benefits.

Where an employee is eligible for each law, HFLL will generally run concurrently with federal FMLA. Where an employee is eligible for HI TDI and FMLA, these laws will generally also run concurrently.

As part of our leave of absence service, The Larkin Company will track leaves under HFLL and advise employees on how to file for their HI TDI pay benefits.

This resource section provides information on how the benefits are made available to employees, for example, are the state pay benefits provided directly by the state or are employers required to provide the benefit via an insurance carrier, and/or may employers self-insure the benefit. Additionally, how are benefits funded, via contributions made by the employee or employer, or both, as well as providing information on state wage reporting requirements if applicable. Many states paid family leave programs require that employers submit employee wage reports for employees within the state. These reports are primarily used to assess an employee’s eligibility when they file for benefits. 

The resource below also provides a summary of employer actions, including how to register with the state to remit contributions and submit wage reports if applicable, and by when contributions/wage reporting is due.

Some leave laws require that you notify your employees about their rights under the law, such as, by providing a prescribed notice to new hires, displaying a poster in the workplace, and/or including information about that leave law in your company handbook. Below you will find a summary of the requirements for each law.

Where the law requires that a leave poster/notice must be provided to the employee when they request leave, The Larkin Company will provide the applicable document within our introductory leave packets (see “Larkin Enclosures” within this resource).

Employers may be required to complete employer forms for certain state income replacement programs, so they must be prepared to look up employee information and respond within the given timelines. While the questions vary state by state, they are typically focused around four areas: leave dates, employment status, last day worked, and questions around pay. To answer these questions, employers typically look in multiple systems to complete the forms:

• Leave dates – clients can use our employer portal or email notifications to confirm dates;
• Demographics/employment status – this information is typically housed in our client’s HRIS;
• Last day worked – this information is typically housed in our client’s time & attendance system;
• Gross wages/last day paid – this information is typically housed in our client’s payroll system.

State Forms – Process

Since this process is complex, we thought it might be helpful for employers to know 1) when to expect the forms based on employees’ work state and 2) when proactive employee collaboration is required. The below information is for Hawaii.

Also included, is information regarding: if you are required to register with the state’s website for the Employer Statements Process, how to register (if applicable), and how employers can check and employee’s claims status (if allowed by the state).

State Website(s)

Hawaii Family Leave Law – HFLL (Leave Law)
HI Temporary Disability Insurance – TDI (Pay Law)

State Law and Regulation(s)

HFLL Code
HFLL Rules
TDI Code
TDI Rules

Contribution Registration (Paid Leave)

No state registration – employers may collect contributions directly, to cover the cost of TDI insurance.
For more general information regarding contributions for this state, please see here.

Employer Statement (Claim Process) Registration

NA – there is no employer state registration/portal for the HI claims process (please check with your carrier).
For general information regarding the paid leave employer statement process for this state, please see here.