Discrimination at Work
HRS 378-2 — race, sex, gender identity, age, disability, arrest record, and more, at any employer with one employee
It is unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire, to discharge, or to discriminate in pay or the terms of employment because of race, sex including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, a reproductive health decision, or status as a victim of domestic or sexual violence where the employer has notice of it.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Hawaii Disability Rights Center and Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
- An employer is anyone with one or more employees, including the State and counties, but not the United States.
- Because of sex includes pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.
- Retaliating against someone for opposing a discriminatory practice, filing a complaint or testifying is itself unlawful.
- So is penalizing an employee for breastfeeding or expressing milk at work, or for a child support income assignment.
An employer may not pay less for substantially similar work because of any of those categories, except under a seniority or merit system, pay by production, or another permissible factor. Nor may it stop employees from disclosing or discussing their wages.
Sources for this section (3)
- HRS 378-2 — Discriminatory practices made unlawful; offenses defined
- HRS 378-1 — Definitions
- HRS 378-2.3 — Equal pay
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.