(1) A person commits the offense of nonpayment of wages if the person, in the capacity as an employer of an employee, intentionally or knowingly or with intent to defraud fails or refuses to pay wages to the employee, except where required by federal or state statute or by court process. In addition to any other penalty, a person convicted of nonpayment of wages shall be fined not less than $2,000 nor more than $10,000 for each offense.

Attorney's Note

Under the Hawaii Revised Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonyup to 5 yearsup to $10,000
misdemeanorup to 1 year$2,000
For details, see Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-660 and Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-663
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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 707-786

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Labor: means work of economic or financial value. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 707-780
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Services: means a relationship between a person and the actor in which the person performs activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the actor or a third party. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 707-780
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Victim: means the person against whom an offense specified in § 707-781 or 707-782 has been committed. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 707-780
(2) Nonpayment of wages is:

(a) A class C felony, if the amount owed to the employee is equal to or greater than $2,000 or if the defendant convicted of nonpayment of wages falsely denies the amount or validity of the wages owed; or
(b) A misdemeanor, if the amount owed to the employee is less than $2,000.
(3) A person commits a separate offense under this section for each pay period during which the employee earned wages that the person failed or refused to pay the employee. If no set pay periods were agreed upon between the person and the employee at the time the employee commenced the work, then each “pay period” shall be deemed to be bi-weekly.
(4) In addition to any other penalty, the court shall order restitution to be paid to the employee, consisting of an amount that is the greater of:

(a) The wages earned by the employee that were unpaid by the person convicted of nonpayment of wages; or
(b) The value of the employee’s labor or services, as guaranteed under the minimum wage provisions of chapter 387 or the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Public Law 75-718, title 29 United States Code sections 201 through 219, inclusive, whichever is greater.
(5) An employee who is the victim of nonpayment of wages may bring a civil action to recover all wages owed by the defendant convicted of nonpayment of wages.
(6) For purposes of this section:

“Employee” means any person working for another for hire, including an individual employed in domestic service or at a family’s or person’s home, any individual employed by the individual’s spouse, or by an independent contractor.

“Person” includes any individual, partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, corporation, the personal representative of the estate of a deceased individual, or the receiver, trustee, or successor of any of the same, employing any persons, but shall not include the United States.

“Wages” means compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, commission, or other basis of calculation.

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