Payment of contributions; wages not included
HRS §383-61
in effect383-61. Payment of contributions; wages not included
(a) Contributions with respect to wages for employment shall accrue and become payable by each employer for each calendar year in which the employer is subject to this chapter. The contributions shall become due and be paid by each employer to the director of labor and industrial relations for the fund in accordance with such rules as the department of labor and industrial relations may prescribe, and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the wages of individuals in the employer's employ.
(b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and
(d), the term "wages" does not include remuneration paid with respect
to employment to an individual by an employer during any calendar year which
exceeds the average annual wage, rounded to the nearest hundred dollars, for
the four calendar quarter period ending on June 30 of the preceding year.
The average annual wage shall be computed as
follows: on or before November 30 of each year the total remuneration
paid by employers, as reported on contribution reports on or before such date,
with respect to all employment during the four consecutive calendar quarters
ending on June 30 of such year shall be divided by the average monthly
number of individuals performing services in such employment during the same
four calendar quarters as reported on such contribution reports and rounded to
the nearest hundred dollars.
(c) For the calendar year 1991 only, the term
"wages" does not include remuneration in excess of $7,000 paid with
respect to employment to an individual by an employer. For calendar years 2008
and 2009, the term "wages" as used in this part does not include
remuneration in excess of $13,000 paid with respect to employment to an
individual by an employer so long as the balance of the unemployment trust fund
does not fall below the adequate reserve fund as specified by section 383-63.
For calendar years 2010 and 2011 only, the term "wages" as used in
this part does not include remuneration in excess of the wages paid with
respect to employment to an individual by an employer during the calendar year
that exceeds ninety per cent of the average annual wage.
(d) For calendar year 1988 only, the term
"wages" as used in this part does not include remuneration paid with
respect to employment to an individual by an employer during the calendar year
which exceeds:
(1) One hundred per cent of the average annual wage
if the most recently computed ratio of the current reserve fund to the adequate
reserve fund prior to that calendar year is equal to or less than .80;
(2) Seventy-five per cent of the average annual wage
if the most recently computed ratio of the current reserve fund to the adequate
reserve fund prior to that calendar year is greater than .80 but less than 1.2;
or
(3) Fifty per cent of the average annual wage if the
most recently computed ratio of the current reserve fund to the adequate
reserve fund prior to that calendar year is equal to or more than 1.2;
provided that "wages" with respect to
which contributions are paid are not less than that part of remuneration which
is subject to tax in accordance with section 3306(b) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended.
(e) If an employer during any calendar year
acquires substantially all the property used in a trade or business, or in a
separate unit of a trade or business, of another employer, and after the
acquisition employs an individual who prior to the acquisition was employed by
the predecessor, then for the purpose of determining whether remuneration in
excess of the average annual wages has been paid to the individual for
employment, remuneration paid to the individual by the predecessor during the
calendar year shall be considered as having been paid by the successor
employer. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "employment"
includes services constituting employment under any employment security law of
another state or of the federal government.
(f) Subsections (b) through (e)
notwithstanding, for the purposes of this part the term "wages" shall
include at least that amount of remuneration paid in a calendar year to an
individual by an employer or the employer's predecessor with respect to
employment during any calendar year which is subject to a tax under a federal
law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required
to be paid into a state unemployment fund.
(g) In accordance with section 303(a)(5) of
the Social Security Act, as amended, and section 3304(a)(4) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, any contributions overpaid due to a
retroactive reduction in the taxable wage base may be credited against the
employer's future contributions upon request by the employer; provided that no
employer shall be given a cash refund.
[L 1939, c 219, §7(a); am L 1941, c 304,
§1, subs 19; RL 1945, §4246; am L 1947, c 3, §1; am L 1951, c 191, §1(4); am L
1953, c 23, §1(3); RL 1955, §93-60; am L 1957, c 115, §1(b); am L Sp 1959 2d, c
1, §27; am L 1961, c 114, §1(b); am L 1964, c 55, §2; am L 1965, c 20, §1; HRS
§383-61; am L 1971, c 187, §6; am L 1976, c 157, §3; gen ch 1985; am L 1987, c
240, §1; am L 1991, c 7, §1; am L 2007, c 110, §3; am L 2010, c 2, §3]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0383/HRS_0383-0061.htmFetched: 11/10/2026