Tentative Agreement to Increase Minimum Wage to $10 Per Hour
The state Finance Committee has approved a bill that would increase the minimum wage in Hawaii to $10 per hour by January 2018. The tip credit, which is the amount that a business can deduct from the minimum wage for those workers who earn tips, would be expanded from its current amount of 25 cents to $1 per hour over the next three years. However, in this approved bill, the state Finance Committee has added a "poverty threshold" term, which is designed to protect low-income workers. Under the "poverty threshold" business will not be able to deduct the tip credit from workers who earn less than 250 percent of the poverty level, or approximately $33,500 per year. Sylvia Luke, the chairwoman of the House Finance Committee, stated, "We want to make sure we never have a situation where people are making under the minimum wage."
