In 2017, a statewide poll showed over 90 percent approval for paid family leave to care for a new child or an ailing family member. National surveys also show that most Americans support paid family leave, an employee benefit offered in every developed country — except the U.S.

Family leave insurance programs have worked well in California (14 years), New Jersey (10 years), and Rhode Island (four years); New York began providing paid family leave benefits in January. Research from these states has shown paid family leave benefits families, improves retention and reduces turnover.

Businesses benefit from greater employee loyalty and productivity. The economy also benefits when businesses thrive and workers do well. This is a win-win-win public policy and Hawaii should embrace it wholeheartedly.

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All types of families benefit from a paid family leave policy — parents with a newborn child, families with one member battling serious illness, and those with ailing elderly parents. Workers need their jobs to support their families. But they also are ready to perform caregiving duties for dependents who might otherwise become a state burden.

Enacting paid family leave will be a fitting recognition of the values that make Hawaii special. It acknowledges the need to help provide a caregiving family with economic security while maintaining workers’ commitment to their jobs. It also means that businesses don’t lose employees with a wealth of experience and job knowledge prematurely.

Paid Family Leave Is Needed

Currently, the federal Family Medical Leave Act and Hawaii Family Leave Law provides unpaid leave for workers. It excludes small business employees, who constitute a third of the state’s workforce. Some employees may be able to combine employer-provided benefits such as paid sick days and vacation time, but even that is often not enough when they need to care for a new child or severely ill family member.

Almost a quarter of the workforce does not have access to any paid leave such as sick days and vacation. Clearly, the high cost of living and aging population have put pressure on the current generation of workers. Paid family leave will help alleviate that pressure and contribute to work-family balance.

$32 to $58 A Year For Workers

Research has shown that a state-run insurance program that beneficiaries pay into provides a low-cost option for all workers and a feasible program model for paid family leave. Risks and resources are pooled across companies and industries to provide universal coverage.

Workers are more likely to take the leave needed if the wage replacement during leave-taking is adequate and they have the security of being able to return to their jobs. These features make the program accessible, affordable, and fairer to women who shoulder most of the caregiving.

Enacting paid family leave will be a fitting recognition of the values that make Hawaii special.

In 2017, with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, researchers from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimated program costs for paid family leave for the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women. Total costs for providing paid family leave benefits across several program designs ranged from $18.2 million (up to 12 weeks of leave annually with benefits similar to the Temporary Disability Insurance program) to $32.7 million (for up to 16 weeks of leave annually and higher benefits).

The program would cost between 0.07 percent to 0.12 percent of total annual earnings for workers. This translates to between 62 cents per week ($32.10 per year) to $1.11 per week ($57.76 per year) for a worker with average earnings. This is a bargain we cannot afford to turn down.

Hawaii’s aging population and our high cost of living are challenging our culture of caring for family. Providing paid family leave to all workers is a path to remaining true to who we are without sliding into economic disaster. Let’s act now.

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