|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2455 |
|
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to employment practices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that workplace violence, harassment, and credible threats against employees have increased across multiple sectors nationwide and in Hawaii, with educators and school-based employees experiencing a particularly acute rise in threatening and intimidating behavior in recent years.
The legislature further finds that teachers, administrators, counselors, and other school officials increasingly report being subjected to harassment, stalking, intimidation, and threats of physical harm arising out of their employment, including threats made on campus, during school‑related activities, and through work-related communications. These incidents have been widely reported and have required some employees to seek temporary restraining orders, injunctions for protection, or other legal remedies to ensure their personal safety and the safety of others in the workplace.
The legislature recognizes that while employers may take steps to address inappropriate or threatening conduct, employees who are the direct targets of workplace violence or credible threats often bear the immediate burden of protecting themselves through court proceedings, meetings with law enforcement, and consultations with attorneys or victim services organizations. These actions frequently occur during working hours and may require short-term absences from work at critical moments when safety concerns are most acute.
The legislature finds that existing law provides unpaid leave protections for victims of domestic or sexual violence but does not explicitly address workplace violence or credible threats arising in the course of employment, nor does it provide clear, limited paid leave protections to ensure that employees are not forced to choose between their personal safety and their livelihoods. This gap disproportionately affects employees in public-facing roles, including educators and school officials, who regularly interact with members of the public as part of their job duties.
The legislature further finds that allowing a reasonable amount of paid leave, satisfied through existing employer leave benefits, for employees who must take immediate legal or safety‑related action in response to workplace violence or threats serves an important public purpose. Such leave supports employee safety, promotes timely access to the courts and law enforcement, reduces the risk of escalation, and helps maintain safe and stable workplaces for employees and the communities they serve.
The purpose of this Act is to clarify that employees who experience workplace violence or credible threats of workplace violence arising out of their employment are entitled to job‑protected leave, and to establish a narrowly tailored, reasonable paid leave provision for safety-related legal actions, while maintaining existing safeguards, certification requirements, and employer flexibility. This Act is not intended to alter employer disciplinary authority, regulate public access to workplaces, or infringe upon lawful speech, but rather to ensure that employees facing credible threats are able to take necessary steps to protect themselves without fear of retaliation or economic harm.
SECTION 2. Section 378-72, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§378-72 Leave of absence for
domestic [or], sexual violence[.], or workplace
violence. (a) [An] Except as provided in
subsection (b), an employer employing fifty or more employees shall allow
an employee to take up to thirty days of unpaid victim leave from work per
calendar year, or an employer employing [not] no more than
forty-nine employees shall allow an employee to take up to five days of unpaid
leave from work per calendar year, if the employee or the employee's minor
child is a victim of domestic [or], sexual violence[;],
or workplace violence or threat of workplace violence; provided the leave
is to either:
(1) Seek medical
attention for the employee or employee's minor child to recover from physical
or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic [or],
sexual violence[;], or workplace violence or threat of workplace
violence;
(2) Obtain services from a victim services organization;
(3) Obtain psychological or other counseling;
(4) Temporarily or permanently relocate; or
(5) Take legal action,
including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal
proceeding related to or resulting from the domestic [or], sexual
violence, or workplace violence or threat of workplace violence, or
other actions to enhance the physical, psychological, or economic health or
safety of the employee or the employee's minor child or to enhance the safety
of those who associate with or work with the employee.
(b) An employee who is a victim of workplace
violence or threat of workplace violence shall be entitled to paid leave for
purposes directly related to the employee's safety or pursuit of legal
protection, as follows:
(1) An employer
employing fifty or more employees shall provide up to ten days of paid leave
per calendar year; and
(2) An employer
employing no more than forty-nine employees shall provide up to five days of
paid leave per calendar year.
Paid leave under this subsection may be satisfied
through the use of accrued sick leave, vacation leave, administrative leave, or
any other paid leave authorized by the employer, and shall not require the
employer to provide additional paid leave beyond existing leave benefits.
(c)
Paid leave under subsection (b) may be used to:
(1) Seek, obtain,
or prepare for a temporary restraining order, injunction for protection, or
other court‑ordered relief;
(2) Participate in
court proceedings, meetings with law enforcement, or consultations with an
attorney or victim services organization related to the workplace violence or
threat of workplace violence; or
(3) Take reasonable
actions necessary to address an immediate safety risk arising from the
workplace violence or threat of violence.
[(b)] (d) An employee's absence from work that is due
to or resulting from domestic abuse [or], sexual violence, or workplace
violence or threat of workplace violence against the employee or the
employee's minor child as provided in this section shall be considered by an
employer to be a justification for leave for a reasonable period of time, not
to exceed the total number of days allocable for each category of employer
under subsection (a).
["Reasonable period of
time" as used in this section means:
(1) Where due to
physical or psychological injury to or disability to the employee or employee's
minor child, the period of time determined to be necessary by the attending
health care provider, considering the condition of the employee or employee's
minor child, and the job requirements; and
(2) Where due to an
employee's need to take legal or other actions, including preparing for or
participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding, obtaining services
from a victim services organization, or permanently or temporarily relocating,
the period of time necessary to complete the activity as determined by the
employee's or employee's minor child's attorney or advocate, court, or
personnel of the relevant victim services organization.]
[(c)] (e) Where an employee is a victim of domestic [or],
sexual violence, or workplace violence or threat of workplace violence
and seeks leave for medical attention to recover from physical or psychological
injury or disability caused by domestic [or], sexual violence, or
workplace violence or threat of workplace violence, the employer may
request that the employee provide:
(1) A certificate from a health care provider estimating the number of leave days necessary and the estimated commencement and termination dates of leave required by the employee; and
(2) [Prior to] Before
the employee's return, a medical certificate from the employee's attending
health care provider attesting to the employee's condition and approving the
employee's return to work.
[(d)] (f) Where an employee has taken [not] no
more than five calendar days of leave for non-medical reasons, the employee
shall provide certification to the employer in the form of a signed statement
within a reasonable period after the employer's request, that the employee or
the employee's minor child is a victim of domestic [or], sexual
violence, or workplace violence or threat of workplace violence and the
leave is for one of the purposes enumerated in subsection (a)[.] or
(c), if applicable. If the leave
exceeds five days per calendar year, then the certification shall be provided
by one of the following methods:
(1) Certified or exemplified restraining orders, injunctions against harassment, and documents from criminal cases;
(2) Documentation from a
victim services organization or domestic or sexual violence program, agency, or facility, including a shelter or
safe house for victims of domestic or sexual violence; [or]
(4) Documentation
including but not limited to a police report, incident report, workplace safety
report, or a written statement from a court, attorney, advocate, victim
services organization, or employer representative confirming that the employee
reported or sought assistance related to a credible workplace threat or act of
workplace violence.
[(e)] (g) If certification is required, no leave shall
be protected until a certification, as provided in this section, is provided to
the employer.
[(f)] (h) The employee shall provide the employer with
reasonable notice of the employee's intention to take the leave, unless
providing that notice is not practicable due to imminent danger to the employee
or the employee's minor child.
[(g)] (i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit an employer from requiring an employee on victim leave to report [not]
no less than once a week to the employer on the status of the employee
and intention of the employee to return to work.
[(h)] (j) Upon return from leave under this section,
the employee shall return to the employee's original job or to a position of
comparable status and pay, without loss of accumulated service credits and
privileges, except that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
entitle any restored employee to the accrual of:
(1) Any seniority or employment benefits during any period of leave, unless the seniority or benefits would be provided to a similarly situated employee who was on leave due to a reason other than domestic or sexual violence; or
(2) Any right, benefit, or position of employment to which the employee would not have otherwise been entitled.
[(i)] (k) All information provided to the employer
under this section, including statements of the employee, or any other
documentation, record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the
employee or employee's minor child has been a victim of domestic or sexual
violence or the employee has requested leave pursuant to this section, shall be
maintained in the strictest confidence by the employer, and shall not be
disclosed, except to the extent that disclosure is:
(1) Requested or consented to by the employee;
(2) Ordered by a court or administrative agency; or
(3) Otherwise required by applicable federal or state law.
[(j)] (l) Any employee denied leave by an employer in
wilful violation of this section may file a civil action against the employer
to enforce this section and recover costs, including reasonable attorney's
fees, incurred in the civil action.
(m) No employer shall discharge, threaten,
coerce, discriminate against, or retaliate against an employee for exercising
rights under this section related to domestic violence, sexual violence, or
workplace violence or threat of workplace violence.
(n) For purposes of this section:
"Reasonable period of
time" means:
(1) Where due to
physical or psychological injury to or disability to the employee or employee's
minor child, the period of time determined to be necessary by the attending
health care provider, considering the condition of the employee or employee's
minor child, and the job requirements; and
(2) Where due to an
employee's need to take legal or other actions, including preparing for or
participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding, obtaining services
from a victim services organization, or permanently or temporarily relocating,
the period of time necessary to complete the activity as determined by the
employee's or employee's minor child's attorney or advocate, court, or
personnel of the relevant victim services organization.
"Workplace violence or threat of workplace violence" means any act or credible threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, stalking, or threatening conduct that occurs at the workplace, at a work-related location, or arises out of or in the course of employment, including conduct committed by a client, customer, student, parent, guardian, member of the public, or any other third party, that a reasonable person would perceive as posing a risk to the health or safety of the employee or others in the workplace."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
Report Title:
Employment Practices; Paid Leave of Absence; Workplace Violence
Description:
Requires certain employers to provide unpaid and paid leave of absence for victims of workplace violence or threat of workplace violence. Expands the type of certification an employee may provide to an employer if the leave exceeds five days per calendar year.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.