Hawaii employment law combines the at-will doctrine used in nearly every state with a set of worker protections that go well beyond the federal floor. Employers can end the working relationship for any lawful reason and employees can quit at any time, but along the way Hawaii layers on the country’s only mandatory employer-paid health insurance, a state temporary disability program, broad anti-discrimination rules, and specific requirements on wages, leave, and final pay. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) administers most of it.
Minimum Wage, Overtime, and Paydays
Hawaii’s minimum wage rises to $16.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, with another step up to $18.00 per hour scheduled for January 1, 2028.1Wage Standards Division. Minimum Wage and Overtime Every non-exempt worker must be paid at least that rate for each hour worked, regardless of employer size.
Overtime is owed after 40 hours in a workweek. Most employees earn one and one-half times their regular hourly rate. Workers whose salary plus the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or similar facilities makes up less than half their total earnings receive overtime at one-half times the regular rate on top of their salary, a distinction that matters in tourism and hospitality where employer-provided housing is common.2Justia. Hawaii Code 387-3 – Maximum Hours
Tipped workers can be paid $1.25 per hour below the standard minimum, but only if they regularly receive more than $20 per month in tips and their combined wages and tips exceed the minimum wage by at least $7.00 per hour.3Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Tip Credit Notice with Exhibits At the 2026 rate, that means combined earnings must reach at least $23.00 per hour for the credit to apply. If the math doesn’t work in a given pay period, the employer owes the full minimum wage directly.
For salaried employees claimed as exempt from overtime under the executive, administrative, or professional categories, Hawaii uses the federal salary floor. That floor is $684 per week, or $35,568 per year, from the 2019 Fair Labor Standards Act rule that stayed in place after a federal court vacated the Department of Labor’s 2024 update.4U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions Hawaii has not set a higher state threshold.
Paydays must come at least twice per calendar month on predetermined dates. Workers can vote by secret ballot to switch to monthly pay, and the director of labor may approve less frequent schedules case by case, but employees must always receive at least one paycheck per calendar month.5Justia. Hawaii Code 388-2 – Semimonthly Payday
Employers who fail to pay wages owed face both civil and criminal exposure. The DLIR can order the employer to pay the unpaid wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and interest at six percent per year from the date the wages were due, plus a civil penalty of at least $500 or $100 per violation, whichever is greater. A willful refusal to pay wages is a class C felony carrying a fine of at least $500 per offense. Other willful violations carry fines from $100 to $10,000, up to a year in jail, or both.6Justia. Hawaii Code 388-10 – Penalties
The Four Mandatory Insurance Programs
Hawaii employers must carry four separate coverages for their workers. This is the area where a mainland employer moving into Hawaii is most likely to get caught out, and the penalties often compound daily.
Prepaid Health Care
Hawaii is the only state that requires private employers to provide health insurance to eligible workers, a rule in place since 1974 under the Prepaid Health Care Act. An employee becomes eligible after working at least 20 hours per week for four consecutive weeks and earning at least 86.67 times the current minimum wage per month. Employers must pay at least half the premium, and the employee’s share cannot exceed the lesser of 50 percent of the premium or 1.5 percent of monthly gross earnings. Plans must be approved by the DLIR as meeting minimum benefit standards for hospital, surgical, and medical coverage. Federal, state, and county government employers are exempt, along with a few categories listed in the statute.7Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. About Prepaid Health Care
Temporary Disability Insurance
Since 1969 Hawaii has required employers to provide partial wage-replacement coverage for non-work-related injuries and illnesses, including pregnancy. Coverage can come from an authorized carrier, a self-insured plan approved by the DLIR, or a qualifying collective bargaining agreement. Employees qualify after accumulating at least 14 weeks of Hawaii employment (each with 20 or more paid hours and at least $400 in earnings) within the 52 weeks before disability begins. Under the statutory plan, benefits start on the eighth day of disability and run up to 26 weeks at 58 percent of average weekly wages, capped at a maximum the DLIR sets annually. Employers may share the cost, but the employee’s contribution cannot exceed 0.5 percent of weekly wages.8Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. About Temporary Disability Insurance
Workers’ Compensation
Any employer with one or more workers, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary, must carry workers’ compensation coverage for on-the-job injuries and illnesses. When an injury causes an employee to miss at least one day of work or requires treatment beyond basic first aid, the employer must report it to the Disability Compensation Division within seven working days and give the employee a completed WC-1 form and a copy of the state workers’ compensation brochure within three working days. Failing to obtain coverage carries a penalty of at least $500 or $100 per employee per day of non-coverage, whichever is greater.9Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Frequently Asked Questions – Disability Compensation Division
Unemployment Insurance
Employers fund unemployment insurance through payroll taxes. For 2026 the taxable wage base is $64,500 per employee, and new employers pay a contribution rate of 2.4 percent. Experienced employers are rated by their individual reserve ratio, which reflects layoff history against taxable payroll. Most employers also pay an employment and training assessment of 0.1 percent.10Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Contribution Rates Explained – Unemployment Insurance
Family, Medical, and Other Protected Leave
Hawaii’s leave rules layer over the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Where both apply, they generally run at the same time, so the state leave counts against the federal 12-week allotment.
Hawaii Family Leave Law
The Hawaii Family Leave Law applies to employers with 100 or more employees. Eligible workers may take up to four weeks of family leave per calendar year for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild, or parent with a serious health condition.11Justia. Hawaii Code 398-3 – Family Leave Requirement Unlike the federal FMLA, the state law imposes no minimum-hours requirement on employees.12Hawaii Wage Standards Division. Hawaii Family Leave
A detail that catches both sides off guard: the law lets workers use up to 10 days of accrued sick leave for family leave purposes. For the rest of the four weeks, the employee may substitute other accrued paid leave such as vacation. Without accrued leave, the time off is unpaid. At the end of the leave, the employer must return the worker to the original position or an equivalent role with comparable benefits.12Hawaii Wage Standards Division. Hawaii Family Leave
One boundary to note: the Hawaii Family Leave Law does not cover an employee’s own serious health condition. That reason is covered under the federal FMLA, which provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year and includes the worker’s own illness.
Domestic and Sexual Violence Victim Leave
Employees who are victims of domestic or sexual violence, or whose minor child is a victim, are entitled to unpaid leave to seek medical treatment, obtain counseling, relocate, or pursue legal action. Employers with 50 or more employees must allow up to 30 days per calendar year; smaller employers must allow at least five days.13Justia. Hawaii Code 378-72 – Leave of Absence for Domestic or Sexual Violence
Jury and Military Duty
An employer cannot fire, threaten, or penalize a worker for responding to a jury summons or serving on a jury. An employee terminated in violation of this rule has 90 days from the date of discharge to file a civil action for lost wages and reinstatement.14Justia. Hawaii Code 612-25 – Protection of Jurors Employment Hawaii law also protects National Guard and reserve members called for training or deployment, and federal USERRA rules apply in parallel. Federal FMLA adds up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period for a spouse, child, parent, or next of kin caring for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.15U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28M – Using FMLA Leave Because of a Family Members Military Service
Discrimination, Arrest Records, and Whistleblowing
Hawaii’s Fair Employment Practices Act (HRS Chapter 378) prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex (including gender identity or expression), sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, reproductive health decisions, and status as a victim of domestic or sexual violence. The last category is unusual and means an employer cannot retaliate against a worker for disclosing that they are a victim.
Arrest and court record protections are strict. Arrests that did not lead to a conviction cannot be considered at all, and deferred guilty or no-contest pleas count as non-convictions for hiring purposes. Even for actual convictions, an employer cannot ask about criminal history until after making a conditional job offer. These restrictions apply to every employer, not just those above a certain size, which is where mainland companies moving in commonly slip up.16Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission. Hawaii State Law Prohibits Employment Discrimination Because of Arrest and Court Record
The Hawaii Whistleblowers’ Protection Act bars employers from firing, threatening, or retaliating against any employee who reports a suspected violation of law to a public body or who takes part in a government investigation, hearing, or court proceeding. It protects public and private sector workers acting in good faith.17Justia. Hawaii Code 378-62 – Discharge of Threats to or Discrimination Against Employee for Reporting Violations of Law
Because the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission enforces state anti-discrimination law, workers filing a federal charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission get 300 calendar days from the discriminatory act, rather than the standard 180.18U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge Missing that deadline usually ends the federal claim.
Final Paychecks and Unused Vacation
Timing depends on who ended the job. When the employer initiates the separation, all earned wages are due at the time of discharge. If circumstances prevent that, the employer has until the next working day.19FindLaw. Hawaii Revised Statutes 388-3 – Payment of Wages
When the employee resigns, the timeline depends on notice. A worker who gives at least one full pay period’s notice must be paid all earned wages on their last day. Without that much notice, the final paycheck is due on the next regular payday. The employer can mail the check if that is the established practice.19FindLaw. Hawaii Revised Statutes 388-3 – Payment of Wages
Hawaii does not require employers to offer paid vacation and does not require payout of unused vacation at separation unless the employer’s own written policy or contract promises one. If a written policy does include a payout, the employer must honor it as part of the final wages. Workers who believe they are owed accrued vacation have one year from the termination date to file a claim.20Wage Standards Division. Vacation and Sick Leave
Records Every Employer Must Keep
For each employee, employers must maintain contemporaneous records of name, address, occupation, hours worked each day and each workweek, rate of pay, basis of compensation, gross wages, deductions, and net pay.21Justia. Hawaii Code 387-6 – Employers Records Posting of Notices Furnishing of Pay Data Directors Rights and Duties Those records must be kept for at least six years.22Legal Information Institute. Hawaii Code R 12-20-8 – Record Keeping Requirements Employers also have to display current labor law posters in areas accessible to workers, covering wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance, disability compensation, occupational safety and health, and other DLIR programs. The department provides the posters on its website.23Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Labor Law Poster Gaps in records or missing posters can bring administrative fines and closer scrutiny in a DLIR audit.