Villon v. Marriott Hotel Services, Inc.

Opinion of the Court by

MeKENNA, J.

I. Introduction

The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii1 (“District Court”) certified the following question2 to this court:

May food or beverage service employees of a hotel or restaurant bring a claim against their employer based on an alleged violation of Haw.Rev.Stat. § 481B-14 by invoking Haw.Rev.Stat. §§ 388-6, 388-10, and 388-11 and without invoking Haw.Rev. Stat. §§ 480-2 or 480-13?

The instant certified question picks up where our opinion on a related certified question in Davis v. Four Seasons Hotel, Ltd., 122 Hawai'i 423, 428 n.…