Advocates fear Hawaiʻi’s sick leave bill abandons workers in need

Nicole Woo remembers working part-time jobs as a waitress and bartender, and how she was more likely to work while sick because she couldn’t afford to take a day off.

Now she’s an advocate at the nonprofit Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, working to convince lawmakers to pass a bill requiring employers to provide paid sick leave.

House and Senate lawmakers are negotiating a final version of House Bill 4, along with House Bill 213, that would expand the state’s unpaid family leave law. But neither proponents or opponents are happy about the latest drafts of either bill.

Deborah Zysman, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network, said HB 4 started out strong, but has been watered down so much that if it passes, Hawaiʻi could have the weakest mandatory sick leave law in the nation.

Woo from the Appleseed Center, which advocates on behalf of low-income people, said that she’s worried the bill will do little to help people working multiple part-time jobs who might take many months to reach the 750-hour mark.

She’s also concerned that if the state sets a low standard for sick leave, employers could actually worsen their current sick leave policies in response.