§388-10  Penalties.  (a)  Civil.  Anyemployer who fails to pay wages in accordance with this chapter withoutequitable justification shall be liable to the employee, in addition to thewages legally proven to be due, for a sum equal to the amount of unpaid wagesand interest at a rate of six per cent per year from the date that the wageswere due.

(b)  Criminal.  Any employer who does not paythe wages of any of the employer's employees in accordance with this chapter,or any officer of any corporation who knowingly permits the corporation toviolate this chapter by failing to pay wages of any of its employees inaccordance with this chapter, or any employer or the employer's agent or anyofficer or agent of a corporation who discharges or in any other mannerdiscriminates against any employee because the employee has made a complaint tothe employee's employer, or to the director, or to any other person that theemployee has not been paid wages in accordance with this chapter, or hasinstituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to thischapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceedings, orany employer who wilfully fails to comply with any other requirements of thischapter shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $10,000 or imprisonedfor not more than one year, or punished by both fine and imprisonment for eachsuch offense. [L 1963, c 158, pt of §3; am L 1965, c 77, §1(b); Supp, §95-9;HRS §388-10; am L 1977, c 89, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1994, c 84, §1; am L 1999,c 22, §1]

 

Case Notes

 

  Employer has burden of proving "equitablejustification" for failure to pay wages; civil penalty justified.  5 H.App. 106, 679 P.2d 627.

 

Hawaii Legal Reporter Citations

 

  Civil penalty justified.  82-2 HLR 820908.