Hawaii overtime rules: salaried staff under $4,000 a month and the 40-hour regular rate

Do salaried workers in Hawaii get overtime? Unless otherwise exempt, yes if their guaranteed pay is under $4,000 a month: 1.5x after 40 hours, with the salary divided by 40 to find the hourly rate (HRS 387-1, 387-3).

Who counts as an employee: HRS 387-1

Hawaii's definition of "employee" leaves out anyone employed "At a guaranteed compensation totaling $4,000 or more a month, whether paid weekly, biweekly, or monthly" (amended by Act 73 of 2024). The federal salary floor for exempt staff is $684 a week (29 CFR 541.600), about $2,964 a month ($684 × 52 / 12, arithmetic). So a salaried manager earning between those two figures may be exempt federally but still owed overtime under Hawaii law. The more protective rule wins (29 U.S.C. 218(a)).

The same section also excludes, among others, some agricultural work (employers with fewer than twenty employees, and coffee harvesting) and casual domestic service. Read the full list in 387-1.

Overtime: HRS 387-3(a)

"No employer shall, except as otherwise provided in this section, employ any employee for a workweek longer than forty hours unless the employee receives overtime compensation for the employee's employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which the employee is employed."

The regular rate for salaried staff: HRS 387-3(b)

Hawaii converts a salary to an hourly rate by dividing by 40, whatever hours the salary was meant to cover:

Pay period	Regular rate
Weekly	weekly salary / 40
Biweekly	biweekly salary / 2 / 40
Semi-monthly	semi-monthly salary x 24 / 52 / 40
Monthly	monthly salary x 12 / 52 / 40

Board, lodging or other facilities provided are added to the salary first. Example: $3,500 a month gives $3,500 × 12 / 52 / 40 = $20.19 an hour, and an overtime rate of $30.29 (arithmetic, rounded to the cent).

Hawaii has no general meal or rest break rule for adults in these sections.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Read on October 27, 2026 from the Legislature's HRS pages through Internet Archive copies (387-1 dated May 5, 2025, 387-3 dated May 2, 2026), because capitol.hawaii.gov blocked our connection.