Hawaii Pay Transparency Law: The 2026 Employer Guide

Hawaii Pay Transparency Law: The 2026 Employer Guide

If you post jobs in Hawaii, the rules changed on January 1, 2024, and they still trip up employers today. Hawaii's Act 203 requires most larger employers to publish a real pay range in every external job listing. The same law also rewrote the state's Equal Pay Act, widening who is protected and raising the standard you have to defend if two employees doing similar jobs are paid differently.

This guide breaks down exactly what Act 203 requires, who has to comply, what counts as a compliant range, and where the exemptions actually apply. You will also see how the new "substantially similar work" equal pay standard connects directly to how you evaluate and level jobs. The stakes are practical: a sloppy range invites complaints, and an unexplained pay gap now has fewer legal defenses than it did before 2024.

TL;DR

• Hawaii's Act 203 took effect January 1, 2024. Employers with 50 or more employees must post an hourly rate or salary range in external job listings.
• The range must reasonably reflect the actual expected compensation for the role. A range you have no intention of honoring is not compliant.
• Exemptions: internal transfers and promotions, public-sector positions set by collective bargaining, and employers with fewer than 50 employees.
• The 50-employee count is not limited to Hawaii-based staff and is not limited to full-time workers.
• Act 203 also expanded the state Equal Pay Act to cover all protected categories (not just sex) and applies a "substantially similar work" standard based on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.
• Enforcement runs through the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC), which handles discrimination complaints under Chapter 378.

What Act 203 actually requires

On July 3, 2023, Governor Josh Green signed Act 203 (Senate Bill 1057). It added a new section to Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 378 and amended HRS § 378-2.3. Two things happened at once: Hawaii got a job-posting pay disclosure rule, and its existing Equal Pay Act got stronger.

The disclosure rule is straightforward on its face. If you are an employer with 50 or more employees and you post a job listing, that listing must include an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation for the position. The requirement applies to external listings for roles in Hawaii, and it took effect January 1, 2024.

The phrase that matters most is "reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation." Hawaii did not hand employers a loophole to post a $40,000-to-$400,000 range and call it done. Your range has to map to what you genuinely plan to pay the person you hire. If a candidate or employee thinks your posted range is fiction, the path to a complaint is short.

Who has to comply

The trigger is headcount, not revenue or industry. You are covered if you employ 50 or more people. Two nuances catch employers off guard, and both come straight from the HCRC's official guidance.

First, the 50 employees do not all have to be in Hawaii. The HCRC's FAQ states plainly that the law "does not specify the location of the fifty or more employees." So a mainland company with 45 employees across the continental U.S. and 6 in Honolulu still hits the threshold and has to post ranges on its Hawaii listings.

Second, the count is not limited to full-time employees. The HCRC notes the law "does not specify the type of employment." Part-time and other workers can count toward your 50. If you are hovering near the line, assume you are covered rather than betting on a narrow reading.

What counts as a compliant range

There is no magic formula in the statute, but the "reasonably reflects" standard gives you a clear test. Before you publish, ask whether you would actually extend an offer anywhere inside the range you posted. If the honest answer is no at either end, tighten it.

A defensible range starts with a defensible pay structure. If your bands are built on market data and a consistent internal method, your posted ranges practically write themselves and hold up under scrutiny. If your pay is ad hoc, every posting becomes a guess you have to defend later. This is where the disclosure requirement quietly raises the bar on your whole compensation program. For a deeper walk-through, see our guide on building defensible pay ranges.

A few practical habits keep you clean:

• Post a range with a real floor and ceiling, not a single number labeled "starting at."
• Keep the spread tied to the actual level of the role, not to the widest band you have.
• Document how you set the range so you can explain it if a complaint lands.
• Update the range if the role's scope or your market data changes before you re-post.

If you are rebuilding ranges to meet Hawaii's standard, a free demo of PointFactors shows how a structured job-evaluation score turns into a pay range you can post with confidence.

The exemptions, in plain English

Act 203 covers most listings, but three carve-outs matter.

Internal transfers and promotions. Postings for positions that are internal transfers or promotions within your current organization do not need to list a rate or range. The disclosure rule targets external hiring, not internal movement. That said, keeping internal pay transparent is still good practice, even where the law does not force it.

Public-sector collective bargaining roles. Job listings for public employee positions where salary, benefits, or other compensation are set through collective bargaining are not subject to the posting requirement. Those numbers are already fixed by contract.

Employers under 50 employees. Smaller employers are exempt from the posting rule entirely. This exemption is broad enough that a large share of Hawaii's businesses fall outside the mandate, since many local employers are under the threshold.

One thing that is not exempt: pay secrecy. Under HRS § 378-2.3(b), you cannot retaliate against or prohibit employees from discussing their wages with each other, regardless of your size. And since 2019, Hawaii has banned employers from asking about a candidate's salary history under HRS § 378-2.4, though a candidate may volunteer it.

The bigger change: Hawaii's expanded Equal Pay Act

The posting rule gets the headlines, but Act 203's equal pay amendments carry more long-term weight. Two shifts stand out.

Protected categories expanded well beyond sex. Hawaii's Equal Pay Act now prohibits paying one employee less than another for the same work based on any protected category in HRS § 378-2(a). That list is long: race, sex (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, reproductive health decision, and domestic or sexual violence victim status.

The standard moved from "equal work" to "substantially similar work." This is the change that touches your job architecture directly. Under Act 203, "substantially similar work" means jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility, performed under similar working conditions, setting aside minor or irrelevant differences.

If those four factors sound familiar, they should. Skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions are the classic compensable factors at the heart of the point-factor method of job evaluation. Hawaii essentially wrote the logic of quantitative job evaluation into its equal pay standard. If you can show that two roles score differently on those factors, you have a documented, factor-based reason for a pay difference. If you cannot, an unexplained gap looks a lot like a violation.

Act 203 does preserve legitimate reasons for pay differences: a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, a bona fide occupational qualification, or another legitimate, non-discriminatory reason not tied to a protected category. The catch is that you have to be able to prove the reason. A consistent evaluation method is how you turn "we just pay him more" into a defense that holds.

How to get compliant before your next posting

Treat Act 203 as two projects, not one. The posting rule is a quick fix; the equal pay standard is a structural one.

1. Confirm your headcount. Count all employees, everywhere, of every type. If you are at or above 50, you are covered.
1. Audit your open listings. Every external Hawaii posting needs a real hourly rate or salary range. Fix the ones that do not.
1. Pressure-test your ranges. Would you make an offer anywhere in each posted range? If not, tighten it so it reflects actual expected pay.
1. Map your jobs on the four factors. Score roles on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions so "substantially similar" is something you can measure, not argue.
1. Run a pay-equity check. Where similar-scoring jobs are paid differently, document the legitimate reason or fix the gap. Our pay equity audit guide walks through the sequence.

Hawaii is one of a growing list of states pushing pay into the open. If you hire across state lines, do not solve this one jurisdiction at a time. Our multi-state pay transparency compliance guide tracks the full patchwork so you can set one standard that clears every rule at once.

Frequently asked questions

When did Hawaii's pay transparency law take effect? Act 203 took effect on January 1, 2024. Governor Green signed it on July 3, 2023.

Which employers must post salary ranges in Hawaii? Employers with 50 or more employees must include an hourly rate or salary range in external job listings for Hawaii positions. The 50 employees do not all have to be located in Hawaii, and they do not all have to be full-time.

Do the 50 employees have to be in Hawaii? No. The HCRC's guidance states the law does not specify where the 50 or more employees are located. A mostly-mainland employer can still be covered for its Hawaii listings.

Does Act 203 apply to internal promotions? No. Positions that are internal transfers or promotions within your current organization are exempt from the posting requirement. External listings are still covered.

What are the penalties for noncompliance? Act 203 does not spell out specific monetary penalties for the posting rule. Enforcement runs through the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, which handles discrimination complaints under Chapter 378. Beyond legal risk, a range that clearly misstates expected pay invites complaints and damages trust with candidates.

What is "substantially similar work" under the equal pay amendments? It means jobs requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility, performed under similar working conditions, ignoring minor or irrelevant differences. Pay differences between substantially similar jobs must trace to a legitimate reason such as seniority, merit, or a bona fide occupational qualification.

Can Hawaii employers ask about salary history? No. Since 2019, HRS § 378-2.4 has barred employers from asking about or relying on a candidate's salary history, though a candidate may disclose it voluntarily.

Put a defensible range behind every posting

Hawaii's law rewards employers who already know what each job is worth and can prove it. If your pay ranges rest on a consistent, factor-based evaluation, compliance is a formality. If they do not, every posting and every pay gap becomes a risk you carry alone. Book a PointFactors demo and see how quantitative job evaluation gives you ranges you can post today and defend tomorrow.

Justin Hampton is the founder and CEO of PointFactors, a compensation platform that brings AI-powered point-factor job evaluation to HR and compensation teams.

Sources:

• Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Act 203 Pay Transparency FAQs
• Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Act 203 – Pay Transparency & Equal Pay
• Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Act 203 Pay Transparency & Equal Pay summary (PDF)