Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: State has Issued $2 Billion in Benefits Since March 1

News Release from DLIR, July 9, 2020

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) today announced updated unemployment insurance claims information, including paying $ 2,002,048,122 and 1,880,563 weeks claimed since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic on March 1, 2020.

No. of claims filed statewide: 250,226

No. of invalid claims filed statewide: – 73,438

No. of valid claims awaiting claimant to verify: – 10,436

No. of valid claims requiring DLIR action 166,352

No. of claims paid: 151,071

No. of claims requiring DLIR action 7/8/20 15,281

“One major issue preventing claimants from receiving benefits is the use of devices with out-of-state IPs (Internet Protocol address) or Virtual Private Network (VPN) software,” said Deputy Perreira-Eustaquio. “Benefits are stopped when it appears claimants are filing outside of Hawaii so claimants should allow the system to detect their location when filing certifications.”

The Department’s operations continue to evolve including the following common issues:

• Persons working full-time and therefore ineligible for benefits but filing for the loss of part-time work,
• Incorrect deposit information supplied by claimants,
• No weekly certifications filed by claimants,
• Claim backdate issues,
• Separation from work that requires investigation,
• Not allowing location information while filing certifications,
• Claimants that have filed multiple claims, and
• Failure to create a username and password in the claimant online portal.

As reported across the nation, fraudsters are targeting state unemployment insurance systems in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic through various schemes and identity theft. Bad actors are using stolen personal information from sources outside of the department, such as from massive external data breaches like the Equifax breach, to apply for benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and attempt to route payments to their own bank accounts.

If you received a letter regarding a claim for PUA and you did NOT apply for benefits, please follow the instructions on the letter to report potential identity theft at pua.hawaii.gov. The DLIR is not able to detect how or when your identity was stolen and cannot prevent it from being used elsewhere. If you suspect that you have been a victim of identity theft, file a report with the Federal Trade Commission at www.identitytheft.gov.

You may also check to see if your email has been breached by visiting https://haveibeenpwned.com.

For more information about identity theft and PUA benefits please visit https://labor.hawaii.gov/pua-fraud-faqs/.

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

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