State Has Issued $2.6 Billion in Unemployment Insurance Benefits Since March 1

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced updated unemployment insurance claims information, including paying $2,620,848,963 and 2,464,674 weeks claimed since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic on March 1, 2020.

“Ninety-four percent of the valid unemployment insurance claims that have come in since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic have been processed and paid out by the DLIR. Currently our biggest challenge is the staff and resources required to address the high level of imposter and regular fraud in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program,” said Deputy Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio.

• No. of claims filed statewide: 265,201
• No. of invalid claims filed statewide: -91,008
• No. of valid claims awaiting claimant to verify: -9,160
• No. of valid claims requiring DLIR action: 174,193
• No. of claims paid: 163,404
• No. of claims requiring DLIR action 8/6/20: 10,789

“To help reduce the backlog of identity verification we’re asking PUA claimants to submit all of the following:

1. A picture of their Social Security card or other government issued document with name and Social Security number, front and back,
2. Government issued ID with official photo and birthdate, front and back, and
3. A selfie with picture ID next to the face,” noted Deputy Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio.

“There’s also been a significant uptick in workers still attached to an employer being fully released from employment. These individuals will need to report the separation when filing a weekly claim certification. After filing a weekly claim certification, these individuals then reactivate their claim and select ‘Report Separation from an Employer’ in the online portal.”

Individuals who receive a letter regarding a claim for PUA and you did NOT apply for benefits, are asked to report potential identity theft at pua.hawaii.gov. If you suspect that you have been a victim of identity theft, file a report with the Federal Trade Commission at www.identitytheft.gov. You may also check to see if your email has been breached by visiting https://haveibeenpwned.com. The online ticketing system for PUA assistance has been moved to: http://lbr.force.com/PUASupport/s/contact.

For more information about identity theft and PUA benefits visit https://labor.hawaii.gov/pua-fraud-faqs/.

For more information about unemployment insurance and other labor issues visit: https://labor.hawaii.gov/covid-19-labor-faqs/.