(a) An individual shall not be disqualified from regular unemployment benefits for separating from employment if that separation is for a compelling family reason.

For purposes of this section, the term “compelling family reason” means any of the following:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-7.6

  • Benefits: means the money payments payable to an individual, as provided in this chapter, with respect to the individual's unemployment. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-1
  • county: includes the city and county of Honolulu. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 1-22
  • Department: means the department of labor and industrial relations. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-1
  • Employer: means :

    (1) Any employing unit which for some portion of a day within the current calendar year has or had in employment one or more individuals; and

    (2) For the effective period of its election pursuant to section 383-77, any other employing unit which has elected to become subject to this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-1

  • Employment: includes , but is not limited to, any service performed prior to January 1, 1978, which was employment as defined in this section prior to such date and, subject to the other provisions of this section, service performed after December 31, 1977, by an employee as defined in section 3306(i) and (o) of the federal Unemployment Tax Act, including service in interstate commerce. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-2
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • State: includes the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-1
  • United States: includes the states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and, after December 31 of the year in which the Secretary of Labor approves for the first time an unemployment insurance law of the Virgin Islands submitted to the Secretary of Labor for approval, the term "United States" shall also include the Virgin Islands. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-2
(1) Domestic or sexual violence that is verified by reasonable and confidential documentation that causes the individual to reasonably believe that the individual’s continued employment may jeopardize the safety of the individual or any member of the individual’s immediate family (as defined by the United States Secretary of Labor), including any of the following circumstances:

(A) The individual has a reasonable fear of the occurrence of future domestic or sexual violence at, en route to, or en route from the individual’s place of employment, including being a victim of stalking;
(B) The anxiety of the individual to relocate to avoid future domestic or sexual violence against the individual or the individual’s minor child prevents the individual from reporting to work;
(C) The need of the individual or the individual’s minor child to obtain treatment to recover from the physical or psychological effects of domestic or sexual violence prevents the individual from reporting to work;
(D) The employer‘s refusal to grant the individual’s request for leave to address domestic or sexual violence and its effects on the individual or the individual’s minor child, including leave authorized by section 102 of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Public Law 103-3, as amended, or other federal, state, or county law; or
(E) Any other circumstance in which domestic or sexual violence causes the individual to reasonably believe that separation from employment is necessary for the future safety of the individual, the individual’s minor child, or other individuals who may be present in the employer’s workplace;
(2) Illness or disability of a member of the individual’s immediate family (as defined by the United States Secretary of Labor); or
(3) The need for the individual to accompany the individual’s spouse, because of a change in the location of the spouse’s employment, to a place from which it is impractical for the individual to commute to work.
(b) The department may request as reasonable and confidential documentation under subsection (a)(1) the following evidence:

(1) A notarized written statement of the individual attesting to the status of the individual or the individual’s minor child as a victim of domestic or sexual violence and explaining how continued employment creates an unreasonable risk of further violence;
(2) A signed written statement from:

(A) 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
(B) A medical professional, mental health care provider, attorney, advocate, social worker, or member of the clergy from whom the individual or the individual’s minor child has sought assistance in relation to the domestic or sexual violence,

attesting to the domestic or sexual violence and explaining how the continued employment creates an unreasonable risk of further violence; or

(3) Certified or exemplified restraining orders, injunctions against harassment, and documents from criminal cases suggesting or demonstrating that the continued employment may cause an unreasonable risk of further violence.
(c) All information provided to the department pursuant to this section, including any statement of the individual or any other documentation, record, or corroborating evidence discussing or relating to domestic or sexual violence, and the fact that the individual has applied for, inquired about, or obtained unemployment compensation by reason of this section shall be retained in the strictest confidence by the individual’s former or current employer, and shall not be disclosed except to the extent that disclosure is requested or consented to by the employee, ordered by a court or administrative agency, or otherwise required by applicable federal or state law.
(d) As used in this section, the terms “domestic or sexual violence”, “stalking”, and “victim services organization” shall have the same meaning as in § 378-71.

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