RCUH - Effective January 1, 2026: Updates Regarding Non-General Pay Adjustments, Hawai‘i State Minimum Wage Increase, and Changes to Regular-Status, Student Assistant, and Non-Recruited Employees

TO: Principal Investigators, Project Staff, and Fiscal Administrators

Lifting of Suspension for Non-General Pay Adjustments (applicable to UH affiliated projects only): Pursuant to President Hensel’s December 5 memo, the suspension of Non-General pay adjustments have been rescinded, effective January 1, 2026. In alignment, RCUH will also lift the suspension of all non-general pay adjustments (i.e., merit, equity, and/or labor market). UH affiliated projects may resume submitting requests for pay adjustments for consideration, based on business needs and availability of funding, and subject to any additional details and guidelines issued by the Chancellors and Provost of each campus. For eligible employees who received a “merit” rating on their 2025 performance evaluation, projects can provide up to a 2% salary increase or pay award (lumpsum payment). This action be submitted via the HR Portal > Employee Changes > e-Personnel Actions (ePAF):

Pay Rate Change: Use this option to request an increase to an employee’s base salary (select Labor Market or Retention for the “merit” increases)
One-Time Payment: Use this option to request the retroactive lumpsum payment

Hawai‘i State Minimum Wage Increase will increase from $14.00 per hour to $16.00 per hour. The next increase will be $18.00 per hour on January 1, 2028. RCUH will implement the below changes to remain in compliance and maintain labor market competitiveness.

Student Assistant Pay Schedule and Non-Recruited Employees (Intermittent and Temporary status):

The RCUH Student Assistant Pay Schedule is similar to the University of Hawai‘i (UH) Student Pay Schedule. The new minimum pay rate at the entry level (A1-1) is $16.50/hour. Effective January 1, 2026, RCUH will adjust pay rates for all active Student Assistants, in accordance with their current pay grade and step. No action is needed from the PIs/projects.

The student pay schedule reflects pay rates for the next minimum wage increase in 2028. Future notices and actions will be communicated for the upcoming change.

All Non-Recruited employees (Intermittent and Temporary status) must be compensated at least $16.50 per hour, consistent with the new minimum pay rate. RCUH Human Resources has identified current Non-Recruited employees who are making below $16.50 per hour and worked with the Principal Investigators to adjust their pay rates to ensure compliance with the new minimum pay rate.

Regular-Status Pay Schedule (Non-Exempt):

RCUH Human Resources has adjusted the Regular-Status Non-Exempt Pay Schedule. Please refer to 3.330 RCUH Pay Schedules for the updated pay schedule. There are no changes to the Exempt Pay Schedule. All new hires must conform with the new minimums of the applicable pay range for pending and new recruitments/hire requests.

Please contact the staff below if you have any questions: