Employer inquiries into and consideration of salary or wage history
HRS §378-2.4
in effect378-2.4. Employer inquiries into and consideration of salary or wage history
(a) No employer, employment agency, or employee or agent thereof shall:
(1) Inquire about the salary history of an applicant
for employment; or
(2) Rely on the salary history of an applicant in
determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation for the applicant
during the hiring process, including the negotiation of an employment contract.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), an
employer, employment agency, or employee or agent thereof, without inquiring
about salary history, may engage in discussions with an applicant for
employment about the applicant's expectations with respect to salary, benefits,
and other compensation; provided that if an applicant voluntarily and without
prompting discloses salary history to an employer, employment agency, or
employee or agent thereof, the employer, employment agency, or employee or
agent thereof, may consider salary history in determining salary, benefits, and
other compensation for the applicant, and may verify the applicant's salary
history.
(c) This section shall not apply to:
(1) Applicants for internal transfer or promotion
with their current employer;
(2) Any attempt by an employer, employment agency, or
employee or agent thereof, to verify an applicant's disclosure of non-salary
related information or conduct a background check; provided that if a
verification or background check discloses the applicant's salary history, that
disclosure shall not be relied upon during the hiring process for purposes of
determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation of the applicant,
including the negotiation of an employment contract; and
(3) Public employee positions for which salary,
benefits, or other compensation are determined pursuant to collective
bargaining.
(d) For purposes of this section:
"Inquire" means to:
(1) Communicate any question or statement to an
applicant for employment, an applicant's current or prior employer, or a
current or former employee or agent of the applicant's current or prior
employer, in writing, verbally, or otherwise, for the purpose of obtaining an
applicant's salary history; or
(2) Conduct a search of publicly available records or
reports for the purpose of obtaining an applicant's salary history;
provided that this shall not include informing an
applicant, in writing or otherwise, about the proposed or anticipated salary or
salary range for the position.
"Salary history" includes an
applicant for employment's current or prior wage, benefits, or other
compensation, but shall not include any objective measure of the applicant's
productivity, such as revenue, sales, or other production reports.
[L 2018, c
108, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0378/HRS_0378-0002_0004.htmFetched: 11/10/2026