Move carefully on paid leave

Most workers, at some point, want to take leave for reasons such as the birth or adoption of a child or to care for family member with a serious health condition. But in Hawaii, where it’s estimated that nearly half of the workforce is living paycheck-to-paycheck due to our sky-high cost-of-living, very few can afford the time off.

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, public agencies and employers with 50 or more workers have to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave annually. Hawaii Family Leave Law also requires only unpaid leave. And according to the state’s count, less than half of employees in our private sector lack access to even a single day of paid leave.

In coming years, we can expect our state’s leave quandary to intensify, especially with regard to elder care, as we have the fastest-growing population in the over-age-65 bracket nationwide. State lawmakers should therefore be commended for the forward- thinking goals of Senate Bill 2990 and House Bill 2598, which aim to set the stage for a state-managed family leave program that mandates at least partial pay for both private- and public-sector workers.

However, before a mandate is enacted and benefit payments start rolling, the state should thoroughly size up issues and costs tethered to such a program.

The bills task the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to come up with administrative rules by Jan. 1, 2020, to create a program that includes, in addition to universal coverage, job protection for workers who tap family leave as well as a system of so-called progressive wage replacement that allows low-income workers to receive a higher percentage of weekly earnings. That system is clearly a key to success. Without it, many cash-strapped workers would still be unable to afford leave time.

Also, the bills direct an “implementation board” — members would include large- and small-business owners, labor unions, state department heads and family leave advocates — to examine at least two funding models: social insurance, which relies on across-the-board payroll deductions; and expansion of temporary disability insurance.

Some supporters, such as the Hawaii State Teacher Association and the Hawaii Public Health Institute, want to see a specified guarantee of a minimum of 16 weeks of paid family leave and a broad definition of “family” that allows non-relatives to be designated as family for purposes of caregiving. Such provisions would present potentially insurmountable challenges to many employers.

In written testimony on SB 2990, the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii acknowledged the struggle to balance work and family responsibilities, but rightly pointed out that the cost of running a business in the islands is already daunting. And while the scope of the program is now uncharted, clearly small businesses and public schools, for example, could be left scrambling to cover worker shortages created by guaranteed family leave.

Approaching elder care concerns from another direction is the Kupuna Caregivers Program — a first-in-the-nation effort to help family caregivers stay in the workforce. Established by state lawmakers last year, the program envisions providing family caregivers with up to $70 a day to apply to services such as adult day care. Already, though, demand among workers is far exceeding available state funds.

Since 2000, four states — California, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York — have put in place paid leave, with each program funded through employee-paid payroll taxes and administered through respective disability programs. Some research touts improved worker productivity and various other economic and health-related benefits. Still, the Aloha State should proceed with caution as it steps toward what may be its inevitable place in this lineup.

While the need for paid family leave is undeniable, Hawaii must avoid enacting a law that’s unsustainable.