Hawaii — Wage & Hour

Hawaii's minimum wage is $16.00 per hour as of January 1, 2026, and is scheduled to increase to $18.00 per hour on January 1, 2028. The phased increases were enacted by Act 114, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, which established rates of $12.00 per hour beginning October 1, 2022, and $14.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2024. These rates are codified in Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-2.

Source: Hawaii DLIR – Minimum Wage and Overtime

Hawaii requires overtime pay at one and one-half times the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek under the general wage-and-hour law. Unlike some states, Hawaii does not impose a daily overtime threshold for general private-sector employment; hours worked beyond 8 in a single day do not trigger overtime unless the employee exceeds 40 hours for the week. The 40-hour weekly threshold mirrors the federal Fair Labor Standards Act standard.

Public works construction exception — daily overtime and weekend/holiday premiums

Hawaii imposes a separate, more protective overtime regime for laborers and mechanics employed on public works construction projects under Chapter 104, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 104-2(c), no laborer or mechanic employed on the job site of any state or county public work may be permitted or required to work on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday of the State, or in excess of eight hours on any other day, unless the worker receives overtime compensation at not less than one and one-half times the basic hourly rate for all such hours.

This provision creates three distinct overtime triggers for covered public construction work:

• Daily overtime: Hours worked in excess of 8 in any single day (not just when weekly hours exceed 40);
• Saturday work: All hours worked on Saturday, regardless of total weekly hours; and
• Sunday and holiday work: All hours worked on Sunday or a legal state holiday.

Chapter 104 applies to every public works construction contract in excess of $2,000 to which a state or county governmental contracting agency is a party, under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 104-2(a). The definition of "public work" encompasses construction, alteration, or repair of any public building, highway, or other improvement paid for in whole or in part out of public funds. The overtime requirement applies to laborers and mechanics "employed on the job site," which includes employees of contractors and subcontractors performing construction work under the contract.

The Chapter 104 overtime standard is independent of the general Chapter 387 overtime rule. An employee working on a covered public construction project is entitled to daily overtime after 8 hours and weekend/holiday premiums regardless of whether the employee's total weekly hours exceed 40. Conversely, a construction employee working on a private (non-public-works) project is subject only to the general 40-hour weekly threshold in Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-3 and receives no daily overtime or automatic weekend premiums under Hawaii law.

The basic hourly rate used to calculate Chapter 104 overtime must be at least the prevailing wage rate determined by the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations for the employee's classification on projects of similar character, under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 104-2(b) and (c). Employers on public works projects must therefore apply the overtime multiplier to the higher of the employee's actual rate or the applicable prevailing wage rate.

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-3 Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 104-2

Hawaii does not require employers to provide meal or rest breaks to adult employees. The only state-law break requirement applies to minors ages fourteen and fifteen, who must receive at least a thirty-minute rest or meal period after five consecutive hours of work under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 390-2(c)(3). Employers have complete discretion whether to provide breaks to employees age sixteen and older.

This absence of a state-mandated break requirement distinguishes Hawaii from jurisdictions like California, which imposes meal-period obligations after five hours and rest-break requirements for every four-hour work period. Hawaii employers setting break policies for adult workers must look to federal FLSA guidance rather than state statute.

Federal overlay

Although Hawaii imposes no affirmative break obligation, federal wage-and-hour principles govern compensability when an employer voluntarily provides breaks. Under Department of Labor guidance, short rest periods of twenty minutes or less are compensable hours worked and must be counted toward overtime. Bona fide meal periods of thirty minutes or more are not compensable work time if the employee is completely relieved of duty; if the employee performs any work during the meal period—even minor duties such as monitoring a phone or covering a reception desk—the entire period must be paid.

Minor employees — mandatory thirty-minute break

The sole Hawaii statutory break requirement appears in the Child Labor Law. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 390-2(c)(3) prohibits employment of fourteen- and fifteen-year-old minors for more than five hours continuously without an interval of at least thirty consecutive minutes for a rest or lunch period. This break may be unpaid if the minor is completely relieved of all duties. The restriction does not apply to employees age sixteen or older; once a minor turns sixteen, the employer has the same discretion as for adult employees.

Compensability when breaks are provided

When an employer's policy, contract, or practice provides meal or rest breaks to adult employees, the employer must still pay for any break time during which the employee is not actually relieved of duty. The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has confirmed that if an employee works through a designated break, the employer is required to compensate the employee for that time as hours worked. An automatic deduction for a thirty-minute meal period when the employee in fact worked through lunch violates Hawaii's payment-of-wages law, codified in Haw. Rev. Stat. Chapter 388, which requires compensation for all hours an employee is "suffered or permitted to work" under the parallel language in Haw. Rev. Stat. Chapter 387.

Practical compliance steps

Because Hawaii does not mandate breaks, employers implementing a voluntary break policy should document the policy clearly, designate meal periods in advance "as clearly and unmistakably as a meal time," and ensure non-exempt employees are fully relieved of duties during unpaid meal periods. Employers should train supervisors that requiring or permitting work during an unpaid meal break converts that time to compensable hours worked. For minors ages fourteen and fifteen, employers must schedule the required thirty-minute interval no later than the end of the fifth consecutive hour of work and maintain records demonstrating compliance with the restriction.

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 390-2 Source: Hawaii DLIR – Breaks: Meal & Rest Source: Hawaii DLIR – Wage and Hour FAQs

Hawaii allows employers to pay tipped employees a reduced cash wage below the general minimum wage by taking a "tip credit" against their minimum-wage obligation. The tip credit is subject to strict conditions that distinguish Hawaii's rule from both the federal FLSA and most other states.

Maximum tip credit amounts

The maximum tip credit an employer may take varies by the effective date of the applicable minimum wage. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-2(b), as amended by Act 114, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, the statute permits tipped employees to be paid "no less than" a specified amount below the applicable minimum wage. The official Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations minimum-wage poster (HWHL-1, revised June 2022) specifies the maximum tip credit amounts as:

• 75 cents per hour (effective through September 30, 2022);
• $1.00 per hour (effective October 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023);
• $1.25 per hour (effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027); and
• $1.50 per hour (effective January 1, 2028).

Minimum cash wage

When an employer takes the maximum tip credit, the minimum cash wage the employer must pay is the applicable minimum wage minus the tip credit. For the current period (January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027), the minimum wage is $16.00 per hour and the maximum tip credit is $1.25 per hour, yielding a minimum cash wage of $14.75 per hour. Beginning January 1, 2028, when the minimum wage rises to $18.00 per hour and the maximum tip credit increases to $1.50 per hour, the minimum cash wage will be $16.50 per hour.

Combined wage requirement — the $7.00 threshold

Hawaii imposes a unique requirement not found in federal law or most other state tip-credit regimes. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-2(b), the tip credit may be taken only if "the combined amount the employee receives from the employee's employer and in tips is at least $7.00 more than the applicable minimum wage." This provision has been in effect since January 1, 2015.

The $7.00 threshold operates as a floor on the employee's total compensation (cash wage plus tips). For the tip credit to be valid, the employee's average hourly tips plus the cash wage paid by the employer must equal or exceed the minimum wage plus $7.00.

Practical application for 2026

With the minimum wage at $16.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026, the combined wage requirement means the employee must receive at least $23.00 per hour in total compensation (cash wages plus tips): $16.00 minimum wage + $7.00 statutory add-on = $23.00. If the employer pays the minimum permissible cash wage of $14.75 per hour and takes the maximum $1.25 tip credit, the employee must average at least $8.25 per hour in tips to satisfy the combined wage requirement ($23.00 required total - $14.75 cash wage = $8.25 in tips). If the employee's actual tips fall short of this amount, the employer may not take the full tip credit and must increase the cash wage to ensure the employee receives at least $23.00 per hour in combined compensation.

Similarly, for 2028 and beyond, the combined wage floor will be $25.00 per hour ($18.00 minimum wage + $7.00 = $25.00). An employee paid the minimum cash wage of $16.50 per hour must average at least $8.50 per hour in tips.

Tipped employee definition

Under Haw. Admin. R. § 12-20-11, a "tipped employee" is one who "customarily and regularly receives more than $20 a month in tips." An employee qualifies as tipped only for hours worked in the occupation in which the employee actually receives tips; the regulation provides that "tip credit may be taken only for hours worked in the occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives" tips. The employer must notify all employees in writing at the time of hire if tip credit will be used.

Employer recordkeeping and notice obligations

Employers claiming the tip credit must maintain records of "the amount per hour which the employer takes as tip credit" and must report changes "in writing each time it is changed from the amount per hour taken in the preceding week," under Haw. Admin. R. § 12-20-12. The employer must also keep records of "hours worked each workday in occupations in which the employee receives tips, and total weekly straight-time wages for these hours."

Comparison to federal law

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act permits a maximum tip credit of $5.12 per hour (the difference between the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and the federal tipped minimum cash wage of $2.13). Hawaii's tip-credit structure is more protective: the maximum credit is substantially smaller ($1.25 per hour as of 2026), the minimum cash wage is much higher ($14.75 vs. $2.13), and the $7.00 combined-wage requirement ensures tipped employees in Hawaii earn a significantly higher total wage than their federal-floor counterparts. Where both laws apply, the employer must comply with the more protective (Hawaii) standard.

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-2 Source: Hawaii DLIR Minimum Wage Poster HWHL-1 (Rev. 06/22) Source: Hawaii DLIR – Minimum Wage and Overtime Source: Haw. Admin. R. §§ 12-20-11, 12-20-12

Hawaii provides a pure income-based overtime exemption that operates independently of job duties. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1(1), an individual employed "at a guaranteed compensation totaling $2,000 or more a month, whether paid weekly, biweekly, or monthly" is exempt from the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of Hawaii's Wage and Hour Law. The exemption applies to employees "in any capacity" — the statute does not require that the employee perform executive, administrative, or professional work.

Monthly threshold and weekly equivalent

The $2,000 monthly threshold is approximately $461.54 per week (mathematical conversion for reference: $2,000 ÷ 4.33 weeks/month). An employee who receives guaranteed compensation at or above $2,000 per month is exempt from Hawaii's overtime requirement under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-3, regardless of the employee's job title, duties, or hours worked. The statutory phrase is "guaranteed compensation," which the statute does not further define in Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1 itself.

Comparison to federal FLSA threshold

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act exempts bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees from overtime only if the employee both earns at least $684 per week ($35,568 annually) on a salary basis and meets specific duties tests for one of the white-collar exemption categories. Hawaii's $2,000 monthly threshold ($461.54/week equivalent) is lower in dollar terms than the federal threshold, but Hawaii's exemption has no duties requirement. An employee earning $2,500/month ($577/week equivalent) in a routine clerical role is exempt from Hawaii state-law overtime under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1(1) but would not be exempt under the FLSA because the employee does not meet the administrative duties test.

When both laws apply — dual compliance required

Where an employer is covered by both the FLSA and Hawaii law, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1(12) provides that if federal law sets a higher minimum wage or a more protective overtime threshold for a given employee, the higher standard applies. In practice, an employee is exempt from overtime only if the employee qualifies as exempt under both the FLSA and Hawaii law. An employee earning $3,000/month ($692/week) in a non-exempt role under FLSA duties tests remains entitled to federal overtime even though the employee exceeds Hawaii's $2,000/month threshold.

Critical source discrepancy — statute versus DLIR FAQ

The current text of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1(1), as codified on the Hawaii State Legislature website, specifies a threshold of "$2,000 or more a month." However, the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) Wage and Hour FAQ page states: "Under Section 387-1, HRS, an individual in any capacity who receives a guaranteed compensation of $4,000 or more per month ... is exempt from the minimum wage, overtime, and record keeping provisions of the law."

The FAQ figure of $4,000/month conflicts with the statutory text of $2,000/month. The statute controls. Employers and practitioners should apply the $2,000/month threshold as written in Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1(1) unless and until the legislature amends the statute or a court or binding agency rule resolves the discrepancy. The DLIR FAQ may reference an outdated threshold, a proposed amendment that did not pass, or may conflate the income-based exemption in subsection (1) with the separate duties-based exemptions in subsection (6). As of June 1, 2026, no legislative amendment raising the threshold from $2,000 to $4,000 per month has been located in the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Separate duties-based exemptions under administrative rules

Hawaii also exempts employees employed "in a bona fide executive, administrative, supervisory, or professional capacity or in the capacity of outside salesperson or as an outside collector" under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1(6). Those exemptions are defined in Haw. Admin. R. §§ 12-20-2 through 12-20-5 and impose both salary and duties requirements. The duties-based exemptions in subsection (6) are distinct from the pure income-based $2,000/month exemption in subsection (1); an employee who does not meet the duties tests in the administrative rules may still be exempt if the employee earns $2,000 or more per month under subsection (1).

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-1 Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-3 Source: Hawaii DLIR Wage and Hour FAQs

Hawaii requires employers to maintain detailed payroll records for at least six years under Hawaii Administrative Rules § 12-20-8. This retention period is significantly longer than the three-year federal requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act and applies to all employers subject to Hawaii's wage and hour law.

Records required under HRS § 387-6

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-6(a), every employer must keep "in or about the premises wherein any employee is employed a contemporaneous, true, and accurate record" of the following information for each employee:

• Name, address, and occupation of each employee;
• Amount paid each pay period to each employee;
• Hours worked each day and each workweek by each employee;
• Rate or rates of pay of each employee and the basis thereof, whether paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or other basis; gross wages; deductions; allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage; and net wages; and
• Any other information and for the periods of time as the director may by rule prescribe.

The statute explicitly requires that records be "contemporaneous" — meaning employers must create and maintain these records at or near the time the work is performed and wages are paid, not after the fact.

Six-year retention period

Hawaii Administrative Rules § 12-20-8 specifies that all wage and hour records "shall be preserved by the employer for at least six years." The regulation applies to the records enumerated in HRS § 387-6 and to any additional records required under the administrative rules, including tip-credit records under § 12-20-12 for tipped employees.

The six-year retention period runs from the date of the record's creation or the date of the last entry made in the record, not from the date of separation. An employer who terminates an employee in 2026 must retain that employee's payroll records through at least 2032 if the last wage payment or time record was created in 2026.

Comparison to federal requirement

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to preserve payroll records for only three years under 29 C.F.R. § 516.5. Hawaii's six-year requirement is more protective and takes precedence for employers covered by both laws. Employers operating in Hawaii must comply with the longer state retention period even if they would otherwise be subject only to the three-year federal standard.

Additional records for tipped employees

Employers who take a tip credit must maintain additional records under Haw. Admin. R. § 12-20-12, including:

• A symbol placed on the pay records identifying each tipped employee;
• The amount per hour which the employer takes as tip credit, reported to the employee in writing each time it changes from the preceding week;
• Hours worked each workday in occupations in which the employee receives tips, and total weekly straight-time wages for these hours.

These tip-credit records are also subject to the six-year retention requirement.

Director's access and inspection rights

Under HRS § 387-6, the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations or the director's authorized representative has the right "for the purpose of examination" to "access to and the right to copy" all required records. Employers must make records available for inspection at the workplace "at any reasonable time and as often as may be necessary." Willful refusal to admit the director or authorized representative to any place of employment, or willful hindrance or delay in the performance of enforcement duties, subjects the employer to penalties under HRS § 387-7.

Records location and format

The statute requires that records be kept "in or about the premises wherein any employee is employed." The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has not issued formal guidance on whether electronic records maintained in cloud storage or off-site servers satisfy this requirement, but the department's enforcement practice has accepted electronic records if the employer can produce them promptly upon request during an inspection.

Exemption for high-earning employees

Employees who meet the income-based exemption in HRS § 387-1(1) — those earning $2,000 or more per month in guaranteed compensation — are exempt from the recordkeeping provisions of the wage and hour law. Employers are not required to maintain the detailed time and wage records described above for exempt employees, though prudent practice and other legal obligations (payroll tax reporting, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation) typically require retention of basic employment and payroll information.

Source: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-6 Source: Hawaii Admin. R. § 12-20-8 Source: Hawaii DLIR Wage and Hour FAQs