S.B. 822 - Family Leave Summary

• Establishes a web-based family leave data collection system in partnership with the University of Hawaii center on aging to track employee usage, needs, and circumstances of family leave benefits.

• Lowers the employer size threshold for family leave coverage from 100 employees to 50 employees, aligning Hawaii law with federal standards under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

• Requires employees seeking family leave benefits to submit data through the new system and provide certification of submission to their employer.

• Extends family leave eligibility to emergency hire and casual hire state and county government employees previously excluded from coverage.

• Appropriates unspecified general revenue funds for fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 to the University of Hawaii to develop and maintain the data system, purchase hardware and software, and cover personnel costs.