Bolos v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC

── Bolos v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC ── Court: Hawaii Supreme Court Date: May 08, 2026 Category: General *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER *** Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCCQ-XX-XXXXXXX 08-MAY-2026 08:08 AM Dkt. 161 OP IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI ---o0o--- LAURIE BOLOS, et al., on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, vs. WALDORF=ASTORIA MANAGEMENT LLC operating as Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, et al., Defendants-Appellees. SCCQ-XX-XXXXXXX CERTIFIED QUESTION FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAIʻI (CASE NO. 1:23-cv-00104-JMS-KJM) MAY 8, 2026 DEVENS, C.J., McKENNA, EDDINS, AND GINOZA, JJ., AND CIRCUIT JUDGE NAKAMOTO, ASSIGNED BY REASON OF VACANCY OPINION OF THE COURT BY EDDINS, J. I. The United States District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi asks us to answer a certified question. What unit of measure applies when assessing minimum wage compliance and damages under *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER *** Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS) §§ 387-2 and 387-12? Is it the per-workweek unit used under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? Or is it the per-hour unit? Our answer: the per-hour unit applies. HRS § 387-2 (2002) requires employers to pay employees wages “at the rate of not less than” the applicable minimum wage “per hour.” The word “per” means “for each.” HRS § 387-12 (2015 & Supp. 2022) enforces that requirement. The remedy follows the rule – per hour, for “each” violation. The statutes mean what they say and say what they mean. Employers must pay their employees at least the minimum wage for each hour of work. Nothing in HRS §§ 387-2 or 387-12 allows employers to average compensation across a workweek to satisfy minimum wage obligations. Workweek averaging allows employers to pay workers nothing for some hours, so long as earnings from other hours make up the difference. The Legislature did not authorize that result. It directed employers to pay their employees a minimum wage “per hour.” That means for each hour. Not on average. Not after the fact. For each hour worked. II. Plaintiffs are massage therapists, estheticians, nail technicians, fitness instructors, and hair stylists who worked at Defendants’ Grand Wailea hotel spa in South Maui. 2 *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER *** The hotel required them to work a minimum number of hours and shifts each week. But it did not pay by the hour. Rather, the hotel compensated its spa workers only through commissions, a percentage of the price charged for a spa service. Commissions were only generated when a client purchased a service. No commission meant no compensation. But no commission did not mean they did no work. When commission-generating work dried up, Plaintiffs still had to remain on-site. They waited for clients and performed other work for the hotel. This labor included cleaning and preparing treatment rooms, laundering hotel towels and linens, sweeping floors, taking inventory, and ordering supplies. The hotel also assigned Plaintiffs to work shifts in the retail store adjacent to the spa.