Hawaii wage claims: how to get your unpaid pay

How to file a wage claim in Hawaii

1. Gather your records

   Dates and hours worked, your pay rate, pay stubs or bank deposits, texts or schedules, and the employer's name and address.

2. Ask in writing first (optional)

   A demand letter gives your employer a deadline to pay and shows you tried. Use the free letter on this page.

3. File with Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

   Call or visit the Wage Standards Division in Honolulu or the nearest district office; no appointment is needed. A specialist interviews you to check which law applies and whether your complaint is on time. If a violation looks likely, you fill out and sign a written complaint form. The division then investigates, and you usually hear from the investigator within about six weeks. Filing is free.

4. Watch the deadline

   For unpaid wages under the payday law (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 388), the Wage Standards Division will not accept a claim more than 1 year after the wages were due (§ 388-11(b)). The division's filing page says chapter 388 has a time limit; it lists no such limit for minimum wage or overtime (chapter 387) complaints. You can also sue in court (§ 388-11(a), § 387-12(c)); a court deadline could not be confirmed (see notes).

Minimum wage and overtime in Hawaii

Hawaii's minimum wage is $16.00 an hour since January 1, 2026. It rises to $18.00 on January 1, 2028 (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-2).

Minimum wage (2026)

$16.00

Tipped cash wage

$14.75

Next change

$18.00 on January 1, 2028

Overtime

You must get 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-3). Hawaii has no daily overtime. Workers with guaranteed pay of $4,000 or more a month are exempt from the state minimum wage and overtime law (US DOL state table).

Paydays: At least twice a month, on regular paydays set in advance, and within 7 days after the end of each pay period (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 388-2).

Your final paycheck in Hawaii

If you are fired or laid off

In full at the time you are fired or laid off. If that is not possible, no later than the next working day.

If you quit

No later than the next regular payday. If you gave at least one pay period's notice, you must be paid all wages when you leave.

Law

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 388-3

When was your final paycheck due in Hawaii?

Enter how your job ended and your last day of work. We show your state’s rule and, when the rule is a simple number of days or your next payday, the date.

Penalties your employer may owe

An employer who fails to pay wages without a good reason owes you the unpaid wages, plus an equal extra amount, plus 6% yearly interest from the date the wages were due. The employer also owes the state a penalty of at least $500 or $100 per violation, whichever is more (Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 387-12(a), 388-10(a)). If you win in court, the court adds 6% interest, costs and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 388-11(c)). Not paying wages can also be a crime (§§ 387-12(b), 388-10(b)).

Retaliation and immigration status

It is a crime for an employer to fire or punish you because you complained to your employer, the DLIR, or anyone else that you were not paid correctly, or because you started or testified in a case (Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 387-12(b)(3), 388-10(b)(2)).

Federal law also makes it illegal to fire or punish you for filing a wage complaint or cooperating in an investigation (US DOL Fact Sheet #77A).

The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division enforces federal wage law without regard to immigration status, and its services are free and confidential whether you are documented or not (US DOL).

Deductions and tips

Your employer may deduct only what the law requires or what you authorize in writing. Even with your signature, the employer may not take fines, shared-till cash shortages, breakage, bounced checks you were allowed to accept, or losses from damage or faulty work unless you acted willfully (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 388-6). An employer may pay a tipped worker $1.25 below the minimum wage ($14.75 in 2026) only if you get more than $20 a month in tips and your wage plus tips is at least $7.00 above the minimum wage (§ 387-2(b)).

Good to know in Hawaii

• If you were fired, your final pay is due right away or by the next working day (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 388-3(a)).
• Tipped workers: the tip credit is only $1.25 an hour, and only when wage plus tips is at least $7.00 more than the minimum wage (§ 387-2(b)).
• The tip credit rises to $1.50 when the minimum wage reaches $18.00 on January 1, 2028 (§ 387-2).

Forms

• Tip Credit Notice to Employees (HWHL-1a)

Wage-theft calculator for Hawaii

Work out what you should have been paid: at least the minimum wage for every hour, plus overtime. Then compare it with what you got.

Free demand letter for unpaid wages

A short, firm letter asking your employer to pay what it owes by a deadline. Many workers get paid at this step, and in some states a written demand starts penalties or makes the employer pay your attorney fees later. Fill this in, then download the letter as PDF or Word (or copy it), sign it, keep a copy and send it in a way you can prove, such as certified mail or an email you keep.

Questions about wage claims in Hawaii

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