HI SB408

Establishes a family leave insurance program funded by employee wage withholding contributions, administered by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, with benefits paid from a newly created family leave trust fund.

Expands family leave entitlement from four weeks to twelve weeks per calendar year for covered individuals employed by employers with fifty or more employees (lowered threshold from one hundred employees).

Provides twelve weeks of paid family leave insurance benefits for employees caring for a new child within the first year of birth/adoption/foster placement, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, caring for a qualifying service member, or addressing qualifying military exigencies.

Allows employees to designate one person for whom they will provide care if that person has a serious health condition, with employers establishing designation processes within thirty days of eligibility.

Appropriates $300,000 for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 to hire administrative staff, and requires reports on implementation feasibility and an actuarial study of economic impact by January 2018.