Hawaii Unemployment Benefit Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for Hawaii Unemployment Benefit you must first have 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 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 become physically unable to work due to injury or illness after you apply for unemployment, 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 registered to work, 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 be registered for work within seven calendar days after applying for unemployment benefits by posting your resume online at www.hirenethawaii.com, the internet based job matching system used by the Workforce Development Division. If you are a member of a labor union with a hiring hall, you must submit verification that you are in good standing and referable to work through your union. If you cannot be referred by your union, you must register for work in HireNetHawaii.
• 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 7 days after the period being claimed, or within 14 days with good cause for late filing).
• You must be actively seeking work and make at least three job contacts each week which may include the following: contacting employers, checking resources at employment offices, checking job listings in HireNet Hawaii (the state’s internet based job matching system), attending job fairs or employment workshops. You must keep a record of all your work search contacts and submit it when requested by your local claims office. read more