Labor & Employment Claims in Hawaii

State and federal statutes protect employees who are subject to illegal acts carried out by their employers. If you believe that you have unjustly suffered due to the violation of any of these laws or because you are a victim of discrimination or harassment, you need a Hawaii employment and labor law attorney to help you. Some employees are considered employed “at-will,” meaning that their employer can choose to terminate them at any time and for practically every reason. 

However, not every employee in Hawaii is at-will and others have lengthy employment contracts that list out all of their terms. If your contract is violated by your employer because of early termination with no cause, you need the support of experienced and qualified labor and employment lawyers in Hawaii to help assist you with the gathering of information and helping you to recover compensation. 

Our lawyers know that there are many complex factors involved in filing a suit against an employer and it is best to proceed with careful caution. The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan have extensive experience with wage and overtime disputes, retaliation, severance agreement problems, whistleblower issues, noncompete agreements, age and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, violations of FMLA, and many more. 

Even when there are state and federal statutes designed to prevent these acts, too many incidents of discrimination and harassment cause employees to suffer. In general, the Fair Labor Standards Act governs those who reported illegal acts from their employers from being discharged for retaliatory action. This often comes up in the context of whistleblower lawsuits. Whistleblowers may learn about illegal or unethical activities carried out by their employers and should not be punished for doing the right thing by informing the authorities about these actions. If you believe you were discharged because of a whistleblower issue, the support of knowledgeable and qualified lawyers can make a big difference in helping you to move forward. Likewise, all employers should have counsel by labor law and employment attorneys in Hawaii to help answer questions and ensure compliance, as well as thorough review of all documents. 

In many cases, engaging labor law attorneys early on can help to prevent other issues from escalating and becoming complex matters of litigation. Your decision to contact labor and employment lawyers in Hawaii will be important for addressing a broad range of different kinds of issues.

The 2022 minimum cash wage is $10.10 per hour, which is higher than the federal wage. This also means that employers must select the highest number to give to their employees. A violation of the minimum wage payment could enable an employee to file a lawsuit against the employer.

While there are state and federal laws that are in place for the purpose of a twill employees, the range of laws applying to contract agreements for employees and employers is a separate matter. All of these issues can be handled by an experienced employment lawyer in Hawaii, but it is very important that you work with an attorney who has a greater understanding of the impact of contracts and enforcement of those contracts. 

Before signing in the employment agreement or other documentation with a new employer, it can be helpful to have an employment attorney review all of your information and give you some insight on things that may be edited. This is because your contract may become the foundation of a future labor and employment law suit, and you should be both familiar with it and comfortable with all of the terms inside. You may ultimately need to return to your employment lawyer to assist with the enforcement of that contract or pursuing damages because your employer has violated the terms of that contract.

Contract law may enable you to recover back pay, reinstatement, or other damages if your employer violated your contract overall. 

Hawaii labor laws require that employers pay employees at a minimum of one and a half times their regular pay rate when that employee works more than 40 hours in a work week. There are, however, some federal exemptions that apply and not every employee is entitled to overtime. There are also special rules regarding those working on county or state construction projects and they are able to get overtime pay once they work eight hours in a day.

In certain circumstances, Hawaii employers may have to pay residents wage rates that are established by state or federal prevailing wage rates and roles. Employees are also eligible for prevailing wages if they work on state or federal government paid construction projects or certain state or federal government services. 

Hawaii labor laws exist that spell out specific circumstances for meals and breaks. For employees who are between 14 and 15 years of age, they must receive a 30 minute break after five consecutive hours of work per Hawaii statute 390-2(c)(3). Hawaii does not have specific rules requiring employers to provide breaks for employees aged 16 years or older, and federal rules do not require companies to give lunch or rest meal breaks. However, if they do decide to provide breaks, these must be paid if 20 minutes or less.

State level Hawaii labor laws require employers to give employees who are nursing mothers reasonable breaks until the child is one year old unless doing so would create an undue hardship on employer operations or the employer has fewer than 20 employees. Furthermore, employers in Hawaii must provide a nursing mother employee with a location to express breast milk that is free from intrusion from the public and coworkers, as bathrooms do not qualify. 

Hawaii does not require that employers give vacation leave, but those employers who have a minimum of 100 employees must provide leave of up to four weeks to eligible workers with leave to care for any family member or a newborn or adopted child. Furthermore, Hawaii employers must comply with the federal ruling outlined in the Family and Medical Leave Act about unpaid leave for eligible employees. 

Eligible workers are able to take up to 12 weeks of absence for preparation for military service, major health problems, bonding with a child or military service of someone in their family. If you believe that your employer has violated your legal rights, it is imperative that you consult with labor and employment lawyers in Hawaii immediately. This could be your only opportunity to recover compensation and allow you to move forward with your life. The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan take your employment law case seriously and are here to help support you.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.