Update Applicable to:
Employers who employ more than 50 employees in the state of Hawaii for the job listings requirement; All employers operating in Hawaii for the equal pay requirement.
What happened?
The Hawaii legislature passed a pay transparency bill that would require disclosure of hourly pay rates or salaries in job listings and amend the state’s equal pay protections.
If enacted, the bill would become effective on January 1, 2024.
What are the details?
The measure would follow eight other states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington — that have already implemented similar wage-transparency laws.
The bill would require employers to “disclose an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation” in listings for job openings. Additionally, the bill would further prohibit employers from discriminating between employees based on “any protected category” established by state law, not based just on “sex,” by paying such employees at a rate less than other employees who do similar work that “requires equal skill, effort and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions.”
The bill was sent to Governor Josh Green after being passed by both legislative chambers on May 2, 2023. As of today, June 14, 2023, the bill has not yet been signed into law. Therefore, here is what employers can expect:
- If the Governor signs the bill by July 11, 2023 (the 45th day after adjournment sine die), the bill becomes law and is given an Act number.
- If the Governor neither signs nor vetoes the bill by July 11, 2023 (the 45th day after adjournment sine die), the bill becomes law without the Governor’s signature and is given an Act number.
- If the Governor intends to veto the bill, the Governor must inform the Legislature by June 26, 2023 (the 35th day after adjournment sine die) and deliver the veto by July 11, 2023 (the 45th day after adjournment sine die). If the bill is vetoed, it will not become law unless the Legislature successfully overrides the veto in special session by a 2/3 vote in each chamber.* The Legislature must convene in special session at or before noon on July 11, 2023 to override the Governor’s veto.
The legislature may also amend a bill to answer the governor’s objections. For it to become law, a majority of the members in each chamber would be required to vote in favor of the amended bill, and the governor would then have 10 days to sign it.
For more information, please see the links below:
Governor’s Press Release page (when the bill is signed, a press release will be found on this site)
What do employers need to do?
Employers who employee workers in Hawaii will need to review their policies surrounding job advertisements in light of the pay disclosures the new bill would require. However, unlike some other pay transparency laws, the Hawaii bill would not require disclosure of expected pay for internal transfers or promotions.
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