DLIR Delaying Sept. 7 Reopening of Statewide Offices due to COVID-19 Surge

The state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR) will not reopen statewide offices as planned on Sept. 7, 2021 due to the significant increase in COVID-19 cases.

In an effort to better serve the public during this time, the DLIR will expand telephone appointments for claimants with general inquiries and launch telephone appointments for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims and for Employer Services. The DLIR also will continue to operate its call center.

“The high level of community transmission of COVID-19 makes it extremely difficult to ensure the safety of our customers as well as staff,” DLIR Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio said. “However, we recognize how equally important it is that we continue to serve the public as best as we can, and we are rolling out several new initiatives to enhance our services to the community. We will continue to assess the situation and hope to again offer in-person service as soon as the situation allows.”

These new initiatives begin Sept. 7:

• Expanded telephone appointments (from three to five days a week) for claimants with general inquiries
• Telephone appointments for PUA claims (PUA is a program that provides unemployment assistance benefits to individuals who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance)
• Telephone appointments for Employer Services inquiries such as employer registration and the online filing and collection of employer state unemployment taxes to ensure compliance with Hawaiʻi Employment Security laws

These initiatives are in addition to the new telephone appointment system announced last week for claimants to schedule appointments to speak with a claims examiner.

Access to all appointments is available via the web (Chrome or Microsoft Edge) at: labor.hawaii.gov/ui/appointments/.

Important note: None of the benefits described above, nor unemployment benefits of any kind, are available to employees who are terminated for cause; quit their job without good cause; or refuse to return to work. Attempts to collect benefit payments in these situations could be viewed as fraudulent. Investigation of job separation is part of the eligibility determination process.

For more information, visit: https://www.hawaiiunemploymentinfo.com/.

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