Hawaii technical recruiting and hiring rules
Hawaii's cleared market is Oahu, where U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam hosts the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Air Forces, Schofield Barracks is home to the 25th Infantry Division, Fort Shafter is home to U.S. Army Pacific, and NSA Hawaii's operations center near Wahiawa opened in 2012.
Requisitions run from Secret for installation IT and engineering support to TS/SCI with polygraph at the cryptologic center.
Hawaii regulates the posting stage closely and is the only state on this site with a non-compete ban aimed at technology businesses. The rules below are current at the time of writing, each with its source.
Hiring rules in Hawaii that matter to employers
Summaries are general information current at the time of writing and are no substitute for counsel.
- Pay transparency in job postings
- Act 203 of 2023, signed on July 3, 2023 and effective January 1, 2024, requires job listings to disclose an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation. It excludes employers with fewer than fifty employees, internal transfers or promotions, and public positions whose pay is set by collective bargaining, and the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission notes that the law does not specify where the fifty employees must be located. HRS Section 378-2.3 also bars employers from retaliating against employees for disclosing or discussing wages.
- Salary history
- HRS Section 378-2.4, enacted by Act 108 of 2018, provides that no employer or employment agency shall inquire about the salary history of an applicant or rely on it in determining salary, benefits or other compensation, unless the applicant voluntarily and without prompting discloses it.
- Fair-chance hiring
- HRS Section 378-2.5 provides that inquiry into and consideration of conviction records for prospective employees shall take place only after the prospective employee has received a conditional offer of employment, and limits consideration to the most recent seven years for felony convictions and five years for misdemeanor convictions, excluding periods of incarceration. Arrest and court record is a protected class under Hawaii's discrimination law.
- Non-compete agreements
- HRS Section 480-4(d), added by Act 158 of 2015, prohibits including a non-compete clause or a non-solicit clause in any employment contract relating to an employee of a technology business, defined as a business deriving the majority of its gross income from products or services resulting from software development or information technology development, excluding broadcasters and franchised telecommunications carriers.
- At-will employment
- The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations states that Hawaii is generally an at-will state, meaning an employer does not need to give a reason to let an employee go, unless a contract requires notice of the reason, a collective bargaining agreement applies, the termination is discriminatory, or it is retaliation prohibited by HRS Chapter 378.
Metro markets in Hawaii
Hawaii's metro page covers Honolulu and the installations of Oahu.
Industries hiring in Hawaii
Specialties in demand in Hawaii
Questions about hiring in Hawaii
Does the technology non-compete ban apply to a defense contractor in Honolulu?
It applies to a technology business, which HRS Section 480-4 defines by the source of the majority of its gross income: products or services resulting from software or information technology development. A contractor that meets that definition may not include a non-compete or non-solicit clause in an employment contract, and one that does not is outside the ban. Employers should take advice on which side of the line they fall.
How does Hawaii's conviction-record rule work with a clearance requirement?
The employer's own inquiry about convictions waits until a conditional offer and looks back seven years for felonies and five for misdemeanors, excluding incarceration. The clearance process is federal and asks its own questions on the SF-86 under Security Executive Agent Directive 4. A requisition can state the clearance as a requirement of the position.