Hawaii’s Unemployment Insurance benefits are accessible to workers who have lost their jobs due to reasons beyond their control. This program offers financial aid and job search resources to support claimants until they secure new employment.
To qualify for Hawaii unemployment benefits, you must fulfill specific eligibility criteria, which includes filing weekly or bi-weekly claims and reporting on your weekly income and job search activities.
By meeting these requirements, you can receive financial assistance as you search for new job opportunities.
Certified claims to maintain unemployment eligibility
Once you have filed your application for Hawaii unemployment insurance benefits, you will need to file a weekly or bi-weekly certification claim to maintain your eligibility. Your application confirmation will contain a link where you can download your filing schedule. This will tell you whether you need to file your claims on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
You must file your claim certification between 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. HST Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. HST on weekends and holidays.
When filing your weekly claim, you are certifying the Sunday to Saturday of the previous week. When submitting a biweekly claim, you are certifying for the previous two weeks, beginning on Sunday of the first week and concluding on Saturday of the second week.
It is essential to file the claim within seven days after the end of the period to avoid late filing, which may lead to the denial of UI benefits.
Work search activity
When submitting a claim for Hawaii unemployment benefits, you must be willing, able, and available to accept a full-time job.
Unless you are filing a partial claim or working with a referring union to find a new job, Hawaii unemployment claimants are required to contact at least three employers each week. You also must register for work on HireNet Hawaii.
When submitting your unemployment claim, you will be asked questions about your work search activities, including:
- Did you refuse a new offer of work?
- Were you sick, disabled, or impaired in any way that would have prevented you from seeking or accepting work?
- Were you available for work?
- Will you be referred to your next job by a labor union approved by the Department of Labor?
- Did you post an online resume on HireNet Hawaii?
- Did you look for work?
- How many employers did you contact?
- Are you keeping a written record of your job contacts?
While you do not need to submit your job search record with your weekly claim, you will need to keep it in your personal files in case the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations asks for it. Be sure to always provide complete, accurate information to avoid problems with Hawaii unemployment fraud.
Income and Wages
You are also required to disclose any wages or income you earned for the week of the certified claim, even if you haven’t been paid yet.
The certification claim will ask if you performed any work during the week, and if so, ask questions about the companies you worked for and how much you earned.
How to file certified claims
To file a certified claim, you will need to log into the huiclaims.hawaii.gov portal using the username and password you created when submitting your initial application.
From there, you will click “File a Claim Certification.” This will bring you to the claim certification form.
How do I know if my continued claim was successfully submitted?
You can check the status of a continued claim by logging into your huiclaims.hawaii.gov account and clicking the “Claim Inquiry” button under the “My Account” section. This will show you the status of your claim.
Why am I not seeing my claim certification in my “Claim Inquiry?”
The probable explanation is that you filed the claim certification outside of business hours, and it is held in the queue. Despite this delay, you should still receive an email confirmation of the filed claim certification. The certification will reappear on the UI system once it is back online.
Is there a way to edit a claim certification after it has been submitted?
There is no way to edit a claim certification once it has been submitted. We highly recommend reviewing all information for accuracy before clicking the submit button.
How to Collect Payment
When submitting your initial application for unemployment insurance, you will be asked to provide your banking details, including a checking or savings account number and bank routing number, to set up direct deposit for benefit payments.
It will take about three weeks to receive payment after filing your first certification claim. After that, payments will usually appear in your account within three business days of claim approval. To estimate your weekly benefit payment, use the Hawaii unemployment calculator.
How do I update my direct deposit information?
In the event of an account or financial institution change, please log into your unemployment account at uiclaims.hawaii.gov. Then, click on the “Direct Deposit” link under “Manage My Account,” read and accept the terms of authorization information, and provide the required account information.
Who do I call if I haven’t received payment?
First, you need to confirm that the payment was successfully processed via your huiclaims.hawaii.gov account. If the payment was processed, but you do not see it in your bank account, call your financial institution. Ask if they have received your deposit, and when they plan to credit it to your account. If your bank has no record of receiving a deposit, you will need to contact the UI call center.
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