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Legal Information: Hawaii

Workplace Protections

Updated: 
January 11, 2024

Can I use the days guaranteed to me under the law instead of using my vacation days or sick days?

Before you can use the days off that are guaranteed to you under the law, you will first have to use up all paid or unpaid leave that you are entitled to:

  • as part of your employee benefits;
  • as part of a collective bargaining agreement; or
  • under any federal, state, or county law.1

However, your employer does not have to allow you to take more than the maximum amount of days off guaranteed to you under the law, even if you are using the other types of paid or unpaid leave.1

1 H.R.S. § 378-73

Does my employer have to pay me for the time that I take off?

Unless you are taking paid leave days that you already have (such as sick leave) in order to handle issues related to domestic or sexual violence, your employer does not have to pay you for the leave guaranteed to you under the law. The “victim leave,” as it is called, is unpaid leave.1

1 H.R.S. § 378-72(a)