Hawaii Pay Transparency Bill Signed

On July 3^rd, Hawaii Governor Josh Green passed SB1057, which requires employers to include the salary as part of advertisements, in hopes to increase pay transparency and equal pay for all employees. This law states that Hawaii employers who have 50 or more employees are:

• “Required to disclose the hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation” and
• Prohibits “an employer from discriminating between employees because of any protected category by paying wages to employees in an establishment at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays wages to other employees in the establishment for substantially similar work.”

It’s important to note that this law does not apply for job listings for positions that are internal transfers or promotions within a current employer or for public employee positions for which compensation and benefits are determined pursuant to collective bargaining.

Finally, this law also expanded Hawaii’s equal pay law by prohibiting pay discrimination based on “any protected category”, rather than just mentioning sex. Additionally, Hawaii’s equal pay law now uses “substantially similar work” as the standard for comparing employees rather than “equal work”.

This law will be effective January 1, 2024. While Hawaii employers should prepare to adhere to this new legislation, other employers should continue to be on the lookout for new pay transparency laws that may be enacted and impact their recruitment operations.