The September 11th attack
Guidelines determine who collects benefits
Advertiser Staff
As Hawai'i workers begin to brace for furloughs, cuts in hours and the possibility of layoffs, a look at some frequently asked questions of state labor officials:
Q. What is unemployment insurance?
A. Unemployment insurance, administered by the Unemployment Insurance Division of the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, provides temporary financial assistance to workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own and who meet the requirements of the Hawai'i Employment Security Law. Unemployment insurance benefits are paid as a matter of legal entitlement and past employment, and not on the basis of need.
Q. How do I file for unemployment insurance?
A. You must report in person to the nearest unemployment insurance office to file an initial application for unemployment insurance benefits. You should not delay filing or your may lose credit for past weeks of unemployment. When you report, you should bring a picture ID with your name and Social Security number. You should be prepared to list all the employers and dates of employment for the last 18 months, including any part-time work. If you were discharged from military service within the last 18 months, you should bring a copy of your DD-214, and if you worked in federal civilian service, your SF-8 and SF-50. However, do not delay filing if you cannot locate your federal documents.
Q. Who qualifies for unemployment insurance?
A. To qualify monetarily for unemployment insurance, you must be paid sufficient wages in your base period.
The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the effective (starting) date of your claim. Your claim starts the Sunday of the week in which you first apply. For example, if you file your claim on Jan. 3, 2000, then your claims start on Jan. 1, 2000, and your base period consists of the 4 quarters from Oct. 1, 1998 through Sept. 30, 1999.
To have sufficient wages, you must have earned 26 times your weekly benefit amount. (Your weekly benefit amount is 1/21 of your high quarter wages in your base period.) In the above example, if your highest quarter of earnings were in the July to Sept. 30, 1999, quarter and were $7,791, then your weekly benefit amount would be $371 a week and you would need at least $9,646 total earnings in your base period. You must also have wages paid in at least two quarters of the base period.
If you worked in other states besides Hawai'i (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands) in the last 18 months before filing a new claim, you may be able to combine the wages you earned there with wages you earned in Hawai'i to either qualify for a valid claim or to increase the benefit amount you can receive.
Q. What are the eligibility requirements?
A. In addition to having been paid sufficient wages to establish a valid claim, you must meet the following eligibility requirements before you can be paid unemployment insurance benefits:
• You must be either totally unemployed, or working less than your normal hours and earning less than your weekly benefit amount.
• You must be registered for work with the State Employment Service, or if a member of a labor union with a hiring hall, in good standing and referable to work.
• You must be physically able to work and available for work without any major restrictions such as, but not limited to, no transportation, lack of childcare, attendance at school which affects your availability for work, or other personal circumstances. If you are physically unable to work due to injury or illness, you may still be eligible under the medical waiver section of the law, if your illness or injury is evidenced by a doctor's certificate, you are on active claim status, and do not refuse any suitable work because of the injury or illness.
• You must serve a waiting period, normally the first week you are unemployed after you file your claim, meet all eligibility requirements, and are not otherwise disqualified.
• You must file a continued claim for each week that you wish to receive benefits and the continued claim must be filed on time (within seven days after the period being claimed, or within 14 days with good cause for late filing).
• You are not an teacher or other educational employee filing during a school break with reasonable assurance to return to work after the break.
• You are not a professional athlete filing between sports seasons.
• You are not an illegal alien.
• You are receiving a pension, annuity, or retirement pay, including Social Security old-age benefits. If the deductible amount is less than your weekly benefit amount, you may still be eligible for the difference between your weekly benefit amount and the prorated weekly amount of your retirement pay.
• You are not disqualified for any of the following reasons:
• You voluntarily quit your job without good cause.
• You were discharged for misconduct connected with your work.
• You refused a referral or an offer of suitable work without good cause.
• You are unemployed because of a labor dispute.
• You are receiving or seeking other unemployment insurance benefits.
• You commit fraud to collect unemployment insurance benefits.
Q. What is partial unemployment?
A. You can earn up to $50 a week and still receive your full unemployment check. If you are still employed and working and earning less than your weekly benefit amount, you may qualify for the difference between your earnings over $50 and your weekly benefit amount. For example, if you earn $100 during a week and your weekly benefit amount is $200, you can still receive $150.
If you are still employed by an employer in the above situation, the following rules apply:
• You need to have your employer complete a "Weekly Report of Low Earnings" to verify your earnings for the week. These forms are available at the unemployment insurance office.
• You must not refuse any suitable available work during the week in question.
Source: Hawai'i Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
