Hawaii pays the highest scheduled minimum wage in the Pacific: $16 an hour from January 1 2026. Overtime is 1.5 times pay after 40 hours a week under state law that mirrors the FLSA, with no daily overtime rule. Enter your rate and hours for a Hawaii paycheck estimate.
Rules verified November 2026 · Sources: U.S. Department of Labor and Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
By Mudassir Khan
Hawaii Wage and Hour Law, weekly 40 hour test. Each workweek stands alone.
Wage complaints to the Hawaii Wage Standards Division must be filed within 1 year from when wages were due. Estimates only. Not tax, legal, or payroll advice. Confirm with your employer or a qualified professional.
Hawaii's Wage and Hour Law requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, the same weekly test as federal law, with no daily overtime.
Act 114 scheduled $14 in 2024, $16 from January 1, 2026, and $18 from January 1, 2028. Every island uses the same floor; no county sets a higher one.
The Wage Standards Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations takes unpaid wage complaints within 1 year from when wages were due. Overtime lawsuits in court get 6 years under state law.
Gross = (40 × rate) + (hours over 40 × rate × 1.5)
| Rule | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Overtime rule | State law mirrors the FLSA: 1.5 times pay after 40 hours in a workweek |
| Minimum wage 2026 | $16.00 from Jan 1, 2026 ($14.00 through 2025; $18.00 scheduled for 2028; tipped cash wage $14.75) |
| State income tax | Graduated, up to 11% |
| Claim agency | Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wage Standards Division |
| Claim deadline | 1 year to the Wage Standards Division; 6 years for overtime claims in court |
| Worker | Math | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| $16/hr, 50 hours | $640 + 10 × $24 | $880.00 |
| $20/hr, 55 hours | $800 + 15 × $30 | $1,250.00 |
| $25/hr, 45 hours | $1,000 + 5 × $37.50 | $1,187.50 |
| $16/hr, 40 hours in five 8 hour days | 40 × $16, no overtime | $640.00 |
Example 4 is the Hawaii trap: the same 40 hours earns nothing extra, because only hours over 40 count. A long single day never triggers overtime on its own.
One floor for every island. All four counties follow the $16.00 state floor, so Honolulu hotel staff, Maui servers, and Big Island farm workers share the same minimum. There is no higher county rate to track.
The $1.25 tip credit. Tipped employees can be paid a $14.75 cash wage as long as tips bring total pay to $16.00 an hour. The credit rises to $1.50 when the wage reaches $18.00 in 2028.
Hawaii's high state income tax. With rates up to 11%, overtime dollars lose more to the state than in most of the country. Federal taxes plus the state bite mean gross overtime and take home overtime differ a lot here.
Hawaii’s weekly only overtime test matches the federal states: our Utah overtime calculator and Texas overtime calculator show the same math on the mainland. The federal baseline is explained in the FLSA overtime rules guide.
Hawaii's own Wage and Hour Law mirrors the federal rule: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, for nonexempt employees. The result is the same weekly test as the FLSA.
$16.00 an hour from January 1, 2026, under Act 114. The rate was $14.00 through 2025 and is scheduled to rise to $18.00 on January 1, 2028.
With the Wage Standards Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations within 1 year from when wages were due, or with the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, or by suing in court within 6 years.
No. Hawaii has no daily overtime rule. Only the weekly line matters: hours over 40 in a workweek earn 1.5 times the regular rate, no matter how long any single day was.
Yes. Hawaii has a graduated income tax up to 11%, so overtime pay is taxed by the state on top of federal income tax plus Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Yes, if nonexempt. A salary alone does not remove overtime rights in Hawaii. Only employees who pass the exempt duties and salary tests can be denied overtime pay.
Rates and rules checked against these sources in November 2026.
Want the same math without the Hawaii framing? Use the overtime pay calculator. Curious what the no tax on overtime deduction does to a Hawaii paycheck? Try the deduction calculator; with Hawaii’s high state tax, the federal deduction is worth checking.