Hawaii Labor Laws: A Complete Guide to Wages, Breaks, Overtime, and More (2026)

The minimum wage in Hawaii is $16.00/hour, effective January 1, 2026 (HRS §387-2(a)(10)). The $14.00 rate that applied through December 31, 2025 is no longer in effect. The next and final scheduled increase is $18.00/hour on January 1, 2028 (HRS §387-2(a)(11)). No automatic indexing applies beyond that date.

For construction employers processing payroll across multiple Hawaii jobsites, every worker classification must reflect $16.00 as the floor rate as of January 1, 2026.

$18.00/hour takes effect on January 1, 2028, as the final step under Act 114, SLH 2022 (HRS §387-2(a)(11)). The tip credit also increases from $1.25 to $1.50/hour on that same date.

No legislation has proposed accelerating this schedule as of April 2026. Construction employers should plan crew rate tables and certified payroll submissions around this date well in advance.

No, under Hawaii labor laws, breaks are not required by state statute. Hawaii break laws and Hawaii lunch break laws default entirely to the FLSA: meal breaks of 30+ minutes are unpaid if the employee is fully relieved of all duties; rest breaks of 5-20 minutes are paid and count as hours worked.

For construction jobsites, this matters most during field lunch periods. If a worker is monitoring equipment or reachable by radio during a break, that time is likely compensable under Hawaii labor laws on hours worked.

Act 115, SLH 2025 added a $500 minimum civil penalty per violation of HRS Chapter 387. For a construction employer with 10 workers underpaid in the same pay cycle, that’s a minimum $5,000 in penalties before back wages.

Existing remedies remain: back wages plus 6%/year interest, a wage payment violation penalty of no less than $500 or $100 per violation (whichever is greater), a Class C felony charge for knowingly withholding wages, and retaliation fines of $100–$10,000 per offense.

File complaints with the Hawaii Wage Standards Division at labor.hawaii.gov/wsd.

Hawaii prevailing wages on public works projects are governed by HRS Chapter 104. All contractors and subcontractors on state or county construction contracts must pay the rates in the current DLIR Hawaii Wage Rate Schedule — WRS Bulletin 510, effective February 16, 2026.

Certified payrolls must be filed with the contracting agency. Under HRS §104-25, a contractor suspended for violations is barred from all Hawaii public works contracts, not just the project in question.

Monitor the DLIR’s public suspended contractors list before bidding on any public work.

Hawaii child labor laws require minors aged 16-17 to obtain an eCL-3 work certificate from DLIR before starting employment (HRS §390-2).

There are no daily or weekly hour caps for this age group, unlike 14-15-year-olds. However, hazardous occupation prohibitions under HRS §390-4 apply: no operating heavy machinery, no work at restricted heights, and no handling hazardous substances.

On construction jobsites, screen every 16–17-year-old’s assigned tasks against the HRS §390-4 prohibited list before deployment.

Hawaii mandates several types of leave. HFLL (HRS §398-3) requires employers with 100+ employees to provide up to 4 weeks of unpaid leave per year for qualifying family reasons.

TDI (HRS §392) is mandatory for all private employers. The 2026 maximum weekly benefit is $871.

Additional required leave includes jury duty (unpaid, without penalty), voting leave (up to 2 hours paid), domestic violence leave, and organ/bone marrow donation leave (7 days and 30 days, respectively).

Hawaii does not mandate paid sick leave or paid vacation for private-sector employees.

Hawaii requires 1.5 times the regular rate for all hours over 40 in a workweek (HRS §387-3). There is no daily overtime threshold. Hours over 8 per day don’t trigger overtime on their own.

For Hawaii labor laws for salary employees, the federal EAP exemption threshold is $684/week ($35,568/year) under the 2019 DOL rule. The 2024 rule that would have raised this to $1,128/week was vacated by a federal court in November 2024 and never took effect.

Salaried construction supervisors earning below $684/week must receive overtime regardless of title or duties.

Hawaii follows the federal FLSA standard. The operative EAP exemption threshold is $684/week ($35,568/year) under the 2019 DOL rule. The 2024 rule, raising this to $43,888 (July 2024) and $58,656 (January 2025), was vacated nationwide on November 15, 2024.

As of April 2026, DOL has proposed no replacement rule. For Hawaii labor laws on salary employees, both a salary basis test and a duties test must be satisfied to classify a worker as overtime-exempt. Title alone is not sufficient.

HRS §378-2 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, domestic or sexual violence victim status, and national origin.

The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC) enforces these protections and investigates complaints. No amendments were made to HRS §378-2 in 2025 or 2026.

For construction employers: Hawaii’s arrest record protections are broader than federal law. A conditional offer must be extended before any criminal history inquiry.