On May 19, 2026, Governor Green signed into law Act 013 Relating to Military Families, expanding the Hawaiʻi Family Leave Law (HFLL) to allow eligible employees to take up to 4 weeks of unpaid job-protected family leave for a qualifying military exigency involving a covered family member serving in the United States Armed Forces. The law goes into effect July 1, 2026.

“Military exigency” under the HFLL mirrors exigencies provided by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The HFLL has a broader definition of “family” than the FMLA. The HFLL military exigency leave may be taken when an employee’s child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild, or parent is deployed to a foreign country.

The RCUH is a covered employer subject to the HFLL. RCUH employees who are eligible and are approved for HFLL may get paid by using their sick or vacation leave (through the special leave codes), depending on what they are eligible and are approved for.

Reminder: Employees may only use regular sick leave (LSK) for personal illnesses or injuries, and may not use regular sick leave (LSK) for unapproved family leave purposes.

Employees must provide advance notice when requesting military exigency leave, and employers are required to obtain a copy of the “official military orders” from employees taking military exigency leave. Please send Family & Medical Leave (FML) requests directly to the RCUH Employees Benefits at [email protected].

For more information, see 3.660 RCUH Family & Medical Leave Policy.

Contact the RCUH Employees Benefits team at [email protected] or call (808) 956-2326 for any questions/concerns.