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Last updated on: August 30th, 2024
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
Normal working Hours shall not exceed more than 40 hours per workweek (exclusive overtime).
Hawaii law defines a “workweek” as a period of seven consecutive days that are fixed and reoccur regularly.
Time Recording Requirements
Every employer shall maintain and keep in or about the premises where any employee is employed, records in English containing the following information on each employee –
- hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek;
- total daily or weekly time
- total weekly overtime
- rate of pay and length of pay period
- wages for total daily or weekly straight-time wages, overtime
- the amount and purpose of additions to or deductions from wages paid each pay period
- total wages paid each pay period, date of payment, and pay period covered.
These records shall be preserved by the employer for at least six years.
Overtime
Any work performed beyond 40 hours in a work week is considered overtime work.
Pay– An employee is entitled to premium pay at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked excess in a workweek.
Breaks
Hawaii does not have any laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to employees 18 years of age or older, thus the federal rule applies. The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal (lunch) period or breaks. Meal or lunch periods (usually 30 minutes or more) do not need to be paid, so long as the employee is free to do as they wish during the meal or lunch period.
If employer chooses to provide break FLSA apply. Under the FLSA, an employee who takes a break that is 20 minutes or less must be paid for their break time at their normal rate. This includes meal, religious, health, and most likely restroom breaks as long as the break is under 20 minutes. An employer does not have to pay an employee for a break if:
- the break is longer than 20 minutes; and
- the employee is relieved of all work during the break.
No penalty for missing breaks
Breast Feeding Break
An employer may provide reasonable unpaid break time each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her infant child. The employer may make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location (in close proximity to the work area), other than a toilet stall, where the employee can express their milk in privacy.
Annual Leave
In Hawaii, paid annual leave is not required by law. Employers that provide annual leave benefits must make their policies available to employees in writing or through a notice posted in a place accessible to the employees.
The employer’s policy determines the criteria to earn and use these benefits. An employer may lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract denying employees payment for accrued annual leave upon separation from employment.
An employer may implement a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy requiring employees to use their leave by a set date or lose it.
An employer is required to pay an accrued annual leave to an employee upon separation from employment if its policy or contract requires it. An employer may cap the amount of annual leave an employee may accrue over time.
Special Leave
An employer with fifty or more employees must allow an employee to take up to 30 days of unpaid victim leave per calendar year. Employers with forty-nine or fewer employees must allow up to five days of unpaid leave per calendar year. This leave is available if the employee or their minor child is a victim of domestic or sexual violence. The leave may be used for the following purposes –
- to seek medical attention for the employee or the employee’s minor child to recover from physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence
- to obtain services from a victim services organization
- to receive psychological or other counseling
- to temporarily or permanently relocate.
- to take legal action, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to the domestic or sexual violence, or to take other actions that enhance the physical, psychological, or economic well-being of the employee, their minor child, or others associated with or working with the employee.
Duration of Leave – Employees are entitled to a total of four weeks of leave per calendar year.
Covered Employer: An employer qualifies if they employ 100 or more employees within the state for at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or previous calendar year.
An employee is not entitled to more than 4 weeks of leave in any twelve-month period. Leave is not cumulative from year to year. The family leave shall consist of unpaid leave, paid leave, or a combination of paid and unpaid leave. If an employer provides paid family leave for fewer than four weeks, the additional period of leave added to attain the four-week total may be unpaid.
Reasons for Leave: The leave can be taken for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, or parent with a serious health condition. Leave for the employee’s own serious health condition is not included.
Private employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide up to 30 days of paid leave for organ donation. Employers may require donors to use any available leave before accessing this benefit. This leave cannot be used simultaneously with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
An employer is prohibited from discharging, penalizing, threatening, or otherwise coercing an employee for responding to a jury summons or serving on a jury, there is no legal requirement for employers to provide leave for jury duty.
Employers must provide employees with up to two hours of paid leave to ensure they have 2 consecutive hours either before or after their shift to vote. This paid time off cannot include lunch or break periods.
However, if an employee already has a 2-hour window before or after their shift during which the polls are open, the employer is not required to grant additional voting leave. Additionally, employers are not obligated to pay employees for voting leave if the employee does not actually vote. Employees can provide a voter’s receipt as proof of voting.
