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HRS §378-2.7

When employers can check your credit history

This law limits when employers can look at your credit history or credit report. They can only do it after they have offered you a job, and they can take the offer back only if your credit is directly related to the job. Some employers and some jobs are exempt from these rules.

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The statute, as written — Employer inquiries into and consideration of credit history or credit report

(a) Notwithstanding section [378‑2(a)(8)]: (1) Inquiry into and consideration of a prospective employee's credit history or credit report may take place only after the prospective employee has received a conditional offer of employment, which may be withdrawn if information in the credit history or credit report is directly related to a bona fide occupational qualification; (2) The prohibition against an employer's refusal to hire or employ, barring or terminating from employment, or otherwise discriminating on the basis of credit history shall not apply to employers who are expressly permitted or required to inquire into an individual's credit history for employment purposes pursuant to any federal or state law; (3) The prohibition against an employer's refusal to hire or employ, barring or terminating from employment, or otherwise discriminating on the basis of credit history shall not apply to managerial or supervisory employees; and (4) The prohibition against an employer's refusal to hire or employ, barring or terminating from employment, or otherwise discriminating on the basis of credit history shall not apply to employers that are financial institutions in which deposits are insured by a federal agency having jurisdiction over the financial institution. (b) For the purposes of this section: "Managerial employee" means an individual who formulates and effectuates management policies by expressing and making operative the decisions of the individual's employer. "Supervisory employee" means an individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment. [L Sp 2009, c 1, §1]
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.