Hawai‘i’s Lost Wages Benefits Distribution Begins

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations today announced the staggered distribution of funds to claimants of current unemployment insurance programs including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

With the assistance of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, the DLIR received approval to pay six weeks of benefits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Providing extra relief to those still unemployed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic supports those individuals and their families as well as local businesses as claimants spend the benefits. This maximizes all available federal funds to help people in Hawaiʻi who are unemployed because of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Gov. Ige.

The program will pay $300 a week to all eligible claimants that have a weekly benefit amount of $100 or more in unemployment insurance benefits. The program excludes those with a weekly benefit amount of less than $100. Unlike the FPUC program ($600 plus-up) that ended in July, LWA is a grant with a finite amount of funding that only includes benefits for six weeks beginning the week ending 8/1 to 9/5/20.

“Any additional funds to help unemployed workers are welcome – and we estimate that this will provide more than $370 million to families, individuals and our state’s economy,” said DLIR Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio. “It is important to emphasize however, that this benefit is currently time-limited to only a six-week period, between Aug. 1 and Sept. 5, 2020, and not everyone who has filed an unemployment claim will be eligible.”

Benefits generally take three business days to be deposited after issuance by the DLIR. Starting this week, a week’s worth of benefits will go out every week and for the next five weeks as follows:

Sept. 23, 24, 25                      Payment for week ending August 1, 2020

Sept 29, and Oct. 1, 2            Payment for week ending August 8, 2020

Oct. 6, 7, 8                              Payment for week ending August 15, 2020

Oct. 13, 14, 15                        Payment for week ending August 22, 2020

Oct. 20, 21, 22                        Payment for week ending August 29, 202

Oct. 27, 28, 29                        Payment for week ending September 5, 2020

Individuals with pending issues preventing payment will not receive the additional $300 per week if they are allowed benefits after the program has ended.

Please visit FAQs about the LWA program at http://labor.hawaii.gov/ui/main/faq-lost-wages-assistance-lwa/.

The State of Hawaiʻi is not allowed to use CARES Act or any local funds to supplement those individuals with a weekly benefit amount of less than $100 to make them eligible for the program pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum.

For more information about unemployment insurance and other labor issues please visit the recently revised FAQs at https://labor.hawaii.gov/covid-19-labor-faqs/.