Workers' Comp Laws in Hawaii

Getting hurt on the job in Hawaii is stressful, but the state's workers' compensation system exists precisely for this moment. It is a no-fault benefit: you generally do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong to receive medical care and partial wage replacement. Here is what to do first, and what to expect.

Deadlines to know right now

• Notice to your employer: Hawaii law requires written notice of the injury to your employer "as soon as practicable" after it happens. There is no fixed number of days, so report it immediately.
• Filing your claim: a written claim must be made to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations within two years after the effects of the injury become manifest, and within five years after the accident.
• Appealing a denial: 20 days after a copy of the Director's decision is sent to you.

What to do first

1. Tell your supervisor or employer about the injury immediately. The statute (HRS §386-81) says no compensation proceeding can be maintained unless written notice of the injury is given to the employer as soon as practicable. Failure to give that notice does not automatically bar your claim — the law excuses it if your employer (or the supervisor in charge where you were hurt) already knew about the injury, if the employer already furnished you medical care, or if there was a satisfactory reason you could not give notice and the employer was not prejudiced. But do not rely on an exception: report it yourself, in writing if you can, and keep a copy.
2. Get medical care, and say it is a work injury. The Disability Compensation Division (DCD) advises telling the treating provider that this is an industrial injury and asking them to send medical reports and bills to your employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier.
3. Ask your employer for the "Highlights of the Hawaii Workers' Compensation Law" brochure. Hawaii employers must give an injured worker a copy of this brochure within three working days of notice of the injury. Your employer must also file an Employer's Report of Industrial Injury (Form WC-1) with the DCD itself — not with its insurance carrier — within seven working days. Under HRS §386-95, that duty is triggered when the employer has knowledge of an injury that causes absence from work for one day or more, or that requires medical treatment beyond ordinary first aid; the employer must also send you a copy of the report. Because the report is supposed to reach the agency, you can call the DCD to confirm one actually arrived.
4. Make sure a claim is actually on file. If your employer fails to file the WC-1, or if the claim is disputed, the DCD tells workers to contact the nearest DCD office and file an Employee's Claim for Workers' Compensation Benefits (Form WC-5).

Hawaii's workers' compensation agency

Workers' compensation in Hawaii is administered by the Disability Compensation Division (DCD) of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). The DCD's official site is labor.hawaii.gov/dcd. Its Oʻahu office is at 830 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, and the agency's official brochure also lists offices in Hilo and Kealakekua (Hawaiʻi Island), Wailuku (Maui), and Līhuʻe (Kauaʻi).

Who is covered in Hawaii

According to the DCD, any employer — other than those excluded by statute — with one or more employees, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, must provide workers' compensation coverage. There is no small-employer headcount exemption.

Hawaii is not a monopolistic state-fund state: under HRS §386-121, employers secure compensation by buying a policy from an authorized insurer or by qualifying to self-insure, rather than buying from a single state fund.

The statutory definition of "employment" (HRS §386-1) carves out a number of categories, including:

• Volunteer or unpaid service for a religious, charitable, educational, or nonprofit organization, and ministry performed by an ordained minister, priest, or rabbi;
• Service by a student for a school, college, or university in return for board, lodging, or tuition;
• Service performed solely for personal, family, or household purposes where the cash pay falls below a small quarterly threshold set in the statute;
• Certain Medicaid and state-funded home- and community-based care and domestic/attendant-care services;
• Real estate salespeople and brokers paid solely by commission;
• Corporate officers of a corporation without employees who work without wages and hold at least 25% of the stock; individuals who own at least 50% of a corporation; LLC members with at least a 50% distributional interest; and partners of a partnership.

If you are unsure whether your work situation is covered, ask the DCD — coverage questions turn on specific facts.

The deadline to file your claim

This is the deadline that can end your case if you miss it. Under HRS §386-82, the right to compensation is barred unless a written claim is made to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations:

• within two years after the date the effects of the injury became manifest; and
• within five years after the date of the accident or occurrence that caused the injury.

Both limits apply, so the practical rule is: file as soon as you know you have a compensable injury, and never wait years to see whether it gets better. The statute contains a narrow exception for injuries from compressed air and from occupational exposure to certain listed substances (such as asbestos, benzol, lead, or substances with carcinogenic properties) and to X-rays, radium, or radioactive substances — those claims must instead be made in writing within two years after you knew the injury was caused by the nature of the employment. Ask the DCD if that could apply to you. An employer's WC-1 injury report is not the same document as your own claim, so confirm with the DCD that a claim is on file.

Who picks your doctor

In Hawaii, you choose your own treating physician — your employer or its carrier does not direct your care. HRS §386-21(b) lets the injured employee select any physician or surgeon practicing on the island where the injury was incurred (the DCD's own FAQ describes this as a physician practicing on the island where you reside — for most workers these are the same island; ask the DCD if they are not). If you need a specialist, you may select any physician or surgeon practicing in the State, and the Director may authorize an out-of-state specialist where no comparable care is available in Hawaii.

You may be under the care of only one attending physician at a time. Per the DCD, you may change your attending physician once, but you must notify the insurance carrier before making the change; any further change requires approval from the carrier or the Director. In an emergency, or if you do not want to choose a doctor and tell the employer so, the employer may select one — and that does not take away your right to choose your own physician afterward for continuing care.

Wage-replacement benefits

If a work injury leaves you totally unable to work, Hawaii pays temporary total disability (TTD) benefits at 66⅔% (two-thirds) of your average weekly wage, subject to the statutory weekly limits. There is a three-calendar-day waiting period: the statute excludes the first three calendar days of the disability from TTD. (Hawaii's statute as reviewed here does not describe those first three days being paid back later if your disability runs long — if that matters to you, confirm with the DCD.)

Payments are supposed to be made promptly as they accrue, without waiting for a decision from the Director, unless the employer controverts the claim in its initial injury report. The first payment is due no later than the tenth day after the employer has been notified of the total disability, and benefits are then paid weekly. If you are unable to complete a regular daily work shift because of the injury, you are treated as totally disabled for that day. If you hold two or more jobs, tell the DCD — you may be eligible for concurrent benefits. If your workers' comp claim is disputed and benefits are not being paid, the DCD notes you may file a Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) claim with your employer's TDI carrier in the meantime; the TDI carrier can later recover what it paid out of your workers' comp benefits.

Hawaii's law sets both a maximum and a minimum weekly benefit rate tied to the state average weekly wage determined each year. Because those figures change annually, this guide does not print a dollar amount — confirm the current maximum and minimum with the DCD or your claims adjuster.

Permanent disability and other benefits

• Permanent total disability (PTD) — also paid at two-thirds of the average weekly wage, subject to the annual limits. The statute deems certain injuries permanent and total automatically: permanent and total loss of sight in both eyes; loss of both feet at or before the ankle; loss of both hands at or above the wrist; loss of one hand and one foot; a spinal injury causing permanent and complete paralysis of both legs, both arms, or one leg and one arm; and an injury to the skull resulting in what HRS §386-31(a)(6) calls “incurable imbecility or insanity” — the statute's older wording for a catastrophic, permanent brain injury. All other cases are decided on the facts, and no adjudication of permanent total disability may be made until two weeks after the date of injury.
• Permanent partial disability (PPD) — after you reach the point of stability or maximum medical recovery, you may be evaluated by a physician for the extent of permanent impairment, and that rating is used to determine the PPD award.
• Disfigurement — additional compensation for permanent scars, deformity, or discoloration. The DCD's brochure notes laceration and surgical scars are reviewed six months from the date of occurrence, and burn scars are evaluated after one year.
• Vocational rehabilitation — if the injury prevents you from returning to your usual job, the DCD says you may self-refer for vocational rehabilitation services.
• Death benefits — weekly benefits for a surviving spouse and dependent children, plus funeral and burial allowances.

If your claim is denied

If an issue cannot be resolved by agreement, you may request a hearing at the DCD. The DCD states that a hearings officer renders a decision within 60 days after the hearing.

If you disagree with the Director's decision, you must file a written notice of appeal within 20 days after a copy of the decision is sent to the parties (the DCD's brochure describes this as 20 calendar days from the date stamped on the decision). The appeal goes to the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board (LIRAB), and can be filed with the Appeals Board or with the department. Under HRS §386-87, the Appeals Board holds a full hearing de novo — a brand-new hearing, not just a paper review — and may affirm, reverse, modify, or remand. Do not miss that 20-day window: under HRS §386-87(a) the Director's decision becomes final and conclusive if no one appeals in time.

But “final” is not always the end of the road. HRS §386-87(a) makes the decision final “except as provided in section 386-89,” and HRS §386-89 gives the Director continuing jurisdiction to reopen a case. Under that section:

• Newly discovered evidence — if no appeal was taken, the Director may reopen the case within 20 days after the decision was sent and issue a revised decision.
• Fraud — the Director may reopen a case at any time on the ground that fraud was practiced on the Director or on any party.
• Change in, or mistake about, your physical condition — on an application supported by a showing of substantial evidence, the Director may review the case at any time within eight years after the date of the last payment of compensation, or within eight years after a claim was rejected, and may award, reinstate, increase, continue, decrease, or terminate compensation. A case cannot be reviewed more often than once every six months, and this route is not available where the employer's liability was discharged in full by a lump sum under HRS §386-54.

So if you missed the appeal deadline and your condition has worsened, or a fact about your medical condition was gotten wrong, ask the DCD about reopening under HRS §386-89 — you may still have a path. Further judicial review of the Appeals Board's decision is available through the courts on its own separate deadline.

Where to get help in Hawaii

The DCD's WC Facilitator Section (808-586-9161, dlir.workcomp@hawaii.gov) answers questions about pending workers' compensation cases; the DCD's main line is 808-586-9151, and free interpreter services are available. Neighbor-island workers can use the DCD offices in Hilo, Kealakekua, Wailuku, and Līhuʻe listed in the agency's brochure. The Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board has its own official pages at labor.hawaii.gov/lirab. If you need a lawyer and cannot afford one, ask the DCD about legal aid resources serving Hawaii's low-income residents, or contact the Hawaii State Bar Association's lawyer referral service.

This article provides general legal information about Hawaii law, not legal advice for your specific situation.