Temporary Disability Insurance Plans
If you are an employer in Hawaii, you need to have a full understanding of Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI). Temporary Disability Insurance was created so employers could provide partial wage replacement when their employee(s) were out of work due to nonworking-related injuries or sicknesses.
Who Does and Does Not Qualify?
In order to qualify, an employee must have worked for at least a total of 14 weeks as a Hawaiian resident. This can be nonconsecutive, and it doesn’t require working for the same employer.
An eligible employee must work at least 20 hours a week, having earned no less than $400 over the course of the previous year.
People who do not qualify include:
- Individuals under 18 years of age who deliver newspapers
- Those whose earnings are commission-based (e.g. real estate agents and salespeople)
- Federal government employees
- Student nurses
What Do Employers Need To Do?
Employers must have this type of insurance through an authorized insurer. They also have the option to be self-insured, though this requires approval from the Division and demonstrate financial capability through audited financial statements.
Funding the insurance plan can happen in one of these ways:
- You (the employer) pays for all costs for maintaining the plan
- You share cost payments with TDI-eligible employees. Employees, however, cannot contribute more than 0.5% of their weekly incomes
Do keep in mind that if you (the employer) do not have a TDI policy in place for your employees, any employee who qualifies for TDI by law has the right to contact the Investigation Section or the Department of Labor and Industrial Relation District Office.
It is also not considered unlawful if you choose to terminate your employee while they are on TDI because of a nonwork-related circumstance. However, the employee has the right to contact the Civil Rights Commission to find out more information about what they can do specifically.
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At Proinsurance Hawaii, we are devoted to providing employers like you with the information you need to run your business the right way.
