Question: A friend has rheumatoid arthritis that makes her miss work when it acts up. When she told her human resources department that her doctor was going to fill out FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) forms for her because of her condition, they told her not to. They said they are an “at-will company,” FMLA means nothing and they can terminate employment at will. Is this true?

Answer: Not necessarily.

Your friend should call the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Wage and Hour Division at 541-1361 to get information on what protections she has under the law.

According to state labor officials, both the Hawaii Family Leave Law and

federal FMLA provide employment and benefit protections during family leave, including protection from being terminated.

Being an “at-will” employee is not a factor in determining coverage or exemption from the laws, said state Labor Department spokesman William Kunstman. (“At-will” employment means either the employer or employee can terminate the job anytime without any reason, except that it can’t be for discrimination such as on race, religion or age.)

The state law says an employer must comply with the Family Leave Law if it has 100 or more employees and if the employee has worked at least six consecutive months. Under the federal law, the employer has to comply if it has at least 50 employees and the employee has worked at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months.

The state law provides for a maximum four weeks of leave in a calendar year for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for the employee’s child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, or parent “with a serious health condition.” But it does not have a provision for time off for a worker’s own health issues.

The federal law allows up to 12 weeks of leave to care for a family member and also “entitles employees to use the protected leave for the care of the employee’s own serious illness or injury,” Kunstman said.

For more information about the federal law, go to www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28.htm; for the state law, go to labor.hawaii.gov/wsd/hawaiifamily-leave.

Question: I attended the Bonnie Raitt concert at the Waikiki Shell on March 16 with friends. During her encore number at the end, I attempted to use the restroom on the Diamond Head side of the stage. But city employees told me that restroom was closed and that I would have to use the facilities near the entrance. Of course there were long lines for the limited facilities available. Could you shed some light on this?

Answer: All the restrooms were open and functioning for most of the event, but problems were reported at the Diamond Head-side women’s restroom as the concert was winding down, said city spokesman Jay Parasco, who apologized for the closure.

When the toilets began backing up, Shell staff closed that restroom and directed patrons to the Ewa restrooms for the remainder of the evening.

“Upon inspection, it was found that the inline sewage assist pump, used to move effluviums to the main sewer line, had become clogged by items flushed down the toilet which could not be cleared,” Parasco said.

The clog has since been cleared and the restroom in question “is open and functioning,” he said.

A new force main pump with a grinder is being installed to prevent future clogging issues. The pump

is being installed during the day and should not interfere with any events at the Shell, Parasco said. That project should be completed by the end of summer.

Mahalo

To the staff of Vacations Hawaii. My husband returned from Las Vegas on Jan. 29 and discovered he had lost his medical cards.

I called Vacations Hawaii the next day and was referred to the security office of the California and Main Street hotels. I called, but no one had turned in the cards. But that afternoon, both Vacations Hawaii and the security office called and said they had found his cards. His cards were mailed back. — Senior BMG

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