Federal & State Regulations | Tips - Hawaii | J. J. Keller® Compliance Network

State Info

Summary of difference between federal and state regulations

There are certain instances where employers can pay employees at a rate lower than the minimum hourly wage specified by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The most common instance pertains to an employee who earns tips. The employer can deduct the amount of the tips (but only up to a certain maximum amount) from the hourly wage.

Hawaii Revised Statute Chapter 387-1 and -2 indicates that 25 cent per hour tip credit will apply if the employee is paid not less than 25 cents below the applicable minimum wage and the combined amount the employee receives from the employer, and in tips, is at least 50 cents more than the applicable minimum wage.

The allowable tip credit will increase along with the state minimum wage, increasing to 50 cents per hour effective January 1, 2015, then increasing again to 75 cents per hour effective January 1, 2016, provided that beginning on January 1, 2015, the combined amount the employee receives in wages and tips is at least $7 more than the applicable minimum wage.