Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Hawaii program

Sick pay for your own illness (Hawaii TDI)

Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance pays eligible workers who cannot work because of their own disability.

What it is

Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance pays eligible workers who cannot work because of their own disability.

Caring for your child and being unable to work because of your own illness are different benefit tests. TDI covers the worker’s disability. It is not income replacement for time spent caring for your child.

Eligibility rules
  • The employee must have their own qualifying disability. Caring for a child does not meet that condition.
  • You need about 14 weeks of work in the last year, each with at least 20 paid hours. A late claim can be accepted for good cause, but never later than 26 weeks after the illness began.
What you get
  • 58% of average weekly wages, up to $871 a week in 2026.
  • Payments from the eighth day of disability, for up to 26 weeks.
What the help covers
  • The employer’s disability insurer or approved plan calculates the payment from wages, within the 2026 weekly maximum.
If you decide to apply
  1. If you cannot work because of your own illness, ask your employer for form TDI-45 and the insurer’s instructions.
  2. Have the disability dates and wage information ready, and ask your treating clinician about the medical evidence.

Your employer’s disability insurer or plan; Hawaii DLIR TDI information. · Official page ↗

What happens next
  • The employer supplies the form and wage figures. The disability insurer or plan decides the claim.
Good to know

The first seven days are unpaid. The claim form is due within 90 days of the first day of disability.

Other details
  • A TDI payment and a right to job-protected leave are separate questions for the benefits office.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If I become unable to work myself, would TDI help? What would it pay, what would remain unpaid, and could you help me understand the claim deadline?”

Why I’m asking: I need to distinguish benefits for my own illness from leave to care for my child.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

For the worker’s own qualifying disability, TDI-45 is ordinarily due within 90 days of onset. Good cause can permit later filing, but the published outside limit is 26 weeks after onset.

Your social worker

The employer supplies the form and the wage figures.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The employer’s disability insurer or plan.
Ask HR
“If I become unable to work myself, what do I file for temporary disability and by when? I understand it does not cover caring for my child.”

How to apply

First step: Read this one, then go to the family leave item, which is the one about caring for your child.

  1. For the worker’s own qualifying disability, TDI-45 is ordinarily due within 90 days of onset. Good cause can permit later filing, but the published outside limit is 26 weeks after onset.
  2. Do not wait for the family leave answer first: the deadlines are different.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: For the worker’s own qualifying disability, TDI-45 is ordinarily due within 90 days of onset. Good cause can permit later filing, but the published outside limit is 26 weeks after onset.

What to gather

  • Your pay records
  • the doctor’s certificate, if a parent is the one who is ill

How long: Payments start from the eighth day.

What a yes looks like

Weekly payments at 58 per cent of your average wage, capped at $871 in 2026.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the answer is that caring for a child is not covered, that is the rule, and the family leave law is the route.

Watch out

  • It does not pay you to look after your child.
  • The first seven days are unpaid.
  • For the worker’s own qualifying disability, TDI-45 is ordinarily due within 90 days of onset. Good cause can permit later filing, but the published outside limit is 26 weeks after onset.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

58 per cent of average weekly wages up to $871 a week in 2026, from the eighth day, for up to 26 weeks, for the worker’s own illness.

  • $871/week — 2026 maximum weekly benefit
  • $26 — Maximum duration
  • $8 — First payable day of disability
  • $90 — Filing deadline from the start of the disability

Legal protection: A negative fact worth knowing: this does not pay a parent for caring for a child

What it costs the family: Employee contributions come out of pay.

The eligibility facts, as published

Who
the employee, for their own disability
Rate
58 per cent of average weekly wages, capped at the annual maximum
Waiting
the first seven days
Duration
up to 26 weeks
Form
For the worker’s own qualifying disability, TDI-45 is ordinarily due within 90 days of onset. Good cause can permit later filing, but the published outside limit is 26 weeks after onset.

The trap: For the worker’s own qualifying disability, TDI-45 is ordinarily due within 90 days of onset. Good cause can permit later filing, but the published outside limit is 26 weeks after onset.

Where I read this

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