Chapter 21

HAWAII ADMINISTRATIVE RULES
TITLE 6
DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND FINANCE
EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM
CHAPTER 21
SERVICE CREDIT: EXCLUSION FROM MEMBERSHIP
OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES
Subchapter 1 	Claim as Prior Service Credit for Service as a
Legislator Rendered Prior to July 1, 1951
§6-21-1 	Filing of claim and enrollment
§6-21-2 	Retirement
Subchapter 2 	Computation of One Year of Service
§6-21-3 	Applicability
§6-21-4 	Fractional month of employment
§6-21-5 	General employees
§6-21-6 	Teachers
§6-21-7 	Elected officials
§6-21-8 	Part-time employees
§6-21-8.1 	Average final compensation
Subchapter 3 	Conversion of Unused Sick Leave to Additional
Service Credit
§6-21-9 	Unused sick leave defined
§6-21-10 	Limitations
§6-21-11 	Conversion rate
§6-21-12 	Certification
Subchapter 4 	Exclusion from Membership of Certain Employees
§6-21-13 	Scope
§6-21-14 	Employees excluded from membership
§6-21-15 	Acquisition of service credit by excluded employees

§6-21-1
Historical Note: Subchapter 1 of this chapter is based substantially
on Procedural Rules Relating to Claim of Prior Service Credit for
Service as a Legislator Rendered Prior to July 1, 1951, Employees’
Retirement System of the State of Hawaii. [Eff 6/15/70; R 11/9/81]
SUBCHAPTER 1
CLAIM OF PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT FOR SERVICE AS A
LEGISLATOR RENDERED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1951
§6-21-1 	Filing of claim and enrollment. Upon receipt of a claim
for service as a legislator rendered to July 1, 1951, and upon verification
of the service, the claimant shall be enrolled as a member of the system.
[Eff 11/9/81; comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-52) (Imp: HRS §88-
52)
§6-21-2 	Retirement. Any legislator or former legislator who has
been enrolled as a member in accordance with section 6-21-1 shall be
retired in accordance with sections 88-73 and 88-74, Hawaii Revised
Statutes. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-52)
(Imp: HRS §88-52)
Historical Note: Subchapter 2 of this chapter is based substantially
on Procedural Rules Relating of the Employees’ Retirement
System of the State of Hawaii Relating to the Computations of One
Year of Service [Eff 6/15/70; R 11/9/81]
SUBCHAPTER 2
COMPUTATION OF ONE YEAR OF SERVICE
§6-21-3 	Applicability. This subchapter shall apply in
determining how much service in any year is equivalent to a year of
service for members classified as general employees in section 88-102,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, for members classified as teachers in section 88-
102, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for elected officials and part-time

§6-21-7
workers who are included in the membership of the system. [Eff 11/9/81;
comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-50) (Imp: HRS §88-50)
§6-21-4 	Fractional month of employment. A fractional month
of employment resulting from initial employment, termination of
employment, death, suspension or leave of absence without pay, shall be
considered one full month of service if the employee worked for fifteen or
more days during the month, or, for the month of February, if the
employee worked for fourteen or more days during the month. [Eff
11/9/81; comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-50) (Imp: HRS §88-50)
§6-21-5 	General employees. (a) For general employees,
twelve full months of employment shall be considered one year of service.
(b) 	A fractional month of employment shall be considered one
full month of service, if it meets the requirements of section 6-21-4. 	[Eff
11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-50) (Imp: HRS
§88-50)
§6-21-6 	Teachers. (a) For employees classified as teachers,
a year of service shall be computed on the basis of a school year, which
shall be from September 1 to August 31. If service is terminated earlier
through death or retirement, service shall be computed to the date of
death or retirement.
(b) 	A fractional month of employment shall be considered one
full month of employment if it meets the requirements of section 6-21-4;
provided that if absences without pay total two and one-half months or
more in any one semester, one additional month shall be excluded in
computing a year of service. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth:
HRS §§88-28, 88-50) (Imp: HRS §88-50)
§6-21-7 	Elected officials. (a) For elected officials, any twelve
months of service in the office to which they were elected or appointed
shall be considered a year of service. For legislators, computation of a
year of service shall commence from the day they are elected or

§6-21-7
appointed. For all other elected officials, computation shall commence
from the day they take office.
(b) 	A fractional month in office shall be treated in the same
manner as a fractional month of employment provided for in section
6-21-4. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-50,
88-52) (Imp: HRS §§88-50, 88-52)
§6-21-8 	Part-time employees. (a) For part-time employees
who are included in the membership of the system, twelve months of part-
time service shall be considered a year of service.
(b) 	If an employee has service comprised of periods including
both part-time and full-time employment, the part-time service shall be
converted to full-time equivalent service or vice-versa, for the purpose of
determining average final compensation and the retirement allowance
payable. Whatever method of conversion is used, the part-time or full-
time service shall conform to the same basis of part-time or full-time
salary used to determine average final compensation; provided that if the
employee is employed on the same part-time basis throughout the
member’s membership, no conversion to full-time equivalent is required
and the average final compensation shall be based on the part-time
salary.
(c) 	A fractional month of employment shall be considered a
month of part-time service if it meets the requirement of section 6-21-4.
[Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-50) (Imp:
HRS §88-50)
§6-21-8.1 	Average final compensation. For the purpose of
computing average final compensation, a year of credited service means
a period of twelve consecutive months of service; provided that if a
fraction of a month is considered a full month of service, the actual
compensation, pay, or salary paid for the month shall be used in the
computation. [Eff and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-50) (Imp:
HRS §§88-50, 88-81)
Historical Note: Subchapter 3 of this chapter is based substantially
on Procedural Rules Relating to the Conversion of Unused Sick
Leave to Additional Service Credit, Employees’ Retirement System
of the State of Hawaii [Eff 8/4/75; R 11/9/81]

§6-21-11
SUBCHAPTER 3
CONVERSION OF UNUSED SICK LEAVE TO
ADDITIONAL SERVICE CREDIT
§6-21-9 	Unused sick leave defined. Unused sick leave means
the number of working days of sick leave which has been accumulated by
the member in accordance with existing statutes, rules, regulations or
collective bargaining agreements, and which remains unused at the time
the member retires or terminates service. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp
2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §88-28) (Imp: HRS §88-63)
§6-21-10 	Limitations. (a) Unused sick leave shall be converted
to additional service credit only if the member has at least sixty days of
that leave for each term of membership service at the time the member
retires or terminates service.
(b) 	Additional service credit derived from the conversion of
unused sick leave shall be used only for the purpose of computing
retirement allowances and shall not be used to meet any length of service
requirement, such as eligibility for retirement, the election of mode of
retirement or for establishing vested benefit status.
(c) 	The conversion of unused sick leave to additional service
credit shall apply only to members retiring or terminating service in good
standing after July 1, 1975. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth:
HRS §§88-28, 88-63) (Imp: HRS §88-63)
§6-21-11 	Conversion rate. (a) Unused sick leave accumulated
other than on the basis of working days shall be converted into working
days at the rate of one working day for each eight hours, or in the case of
firefighters who are employed on twenty-four hour work shifts, at the rate
of two and one-tenth working days for each working shift.
(b) 	For the purpose of computing retirement allowance, unused
sick leave shall be converted into additional service credit at the rate of
one additional month of service for each twenty days of sick leave with

§6-21-11
any remaining balance of ten or more days being equal to another
additional month of service. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth:
HRS §§88-28, 88-63) (Imp: HRS §88-63)
§6-21-12 	Certification. On such form as may be prescribed by
the system, or on such form as is being used by the employing agency,
the agency responsible for the maintenance of sick leave records shall
certify the amount of unused sick leave at the time of retirement or
termination of service of the member. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89]
(Auth: HRS §§88-28, 88-63) (Imp: HRS §88-63)
Historical Note: Subchapter 4 of this chapter is based substantially
on Rules Relating to the Exclusion from Membership of Certain
Employees, Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii
[Eff 8/25/73; R 11/9/81].
SUBCHAPTER 4
EXCLUSION FROM MEMBERSHIP OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES
§6-21-13 	Scope. This subchapter shall govern the exclusion
from membership in the system of certain classes of employees who are
employed on a part-time or short-term basis and members of the
legislature who do not elect to be members of the system. [Eff 11/9/81;
am and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §88-28) (Imp: HRS §88-43)
§6-21-14 	Employees excluded from membership. The following
classes of employees shall be excluded from membership in the system:
(1) 	Persons employed by the legislature or any committee
thereof; except that legislative employees employed on a full-
time basis during and between sessions and any member of
the system on leave of absence to be employed by the
legislature during any legislative session shall be included in
the membership of the system as provided in

§6-21-15
sections 88-21 and 88-54, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(2) 	Persons employed on short-term or temporary appointments
of three months or less;
(3) 	Persons employed as substitute teachers;
(4) 	Persons employed in part-time positions in adult education
and evening class programs;
(5) 	Persons in any position requiring less than one-half or full-
time employment, including but not limited to, lecturers
teaching less than seven credit hours per semester at
baccalaureate colleges of the University of Hawaii and
lecturers teaching less than eight credit hours per semester
in the community colleges of the University of Hawaii;
(6) 	Graduate assistants of the University of Hawaii;
(7) 	Persons employed in any position where employment is
casual or intermittent and the percentage of full-time
equivalence is indeterminate; provided that after at least
three months, any person whose employment has been
determined to average twenty or more hours per week shall
be included in the membership of the system;
(8) 	Members of the legislature who do not elect to be members
as provided in section 88-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes; or
(9) 	Students, including graduate school students, employed as
student helpers, student hires, student aides, summer
student law clerks, college student interns, or in similar non-
permanent positions. [Eff 11/9/81; am and comp 2/9/89]
(Auth: HRS §88-28) (Imp: HRS §§88-21, 88-43)
§6-21-15 	Acquisition of service credit by excluded employees.
(a) A member shall not be eligible for service credit for any period of
service as an employee excluded from membership in the system.
(b) 	A member who rendered service in the armed forces of the
United States during the period 1941-1949 who was employed by the
Territory or a county at the time of induction into the armed forces but was
not included in the membership of the system, and who returned to
employment by the Territory or a county shall be eligible to purchase
service credit not to exceed four years for the period of military service

§6-21-15
between 1941-1949, if the member returned to employment with the
Territory or a county within five years after discharge from the armed
forces. [Eff and comp 2/9/89] (Auth: HRS §88-28) (Imp: HRS §88-43,
88-51(8))