Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

It’s a State Office — no one answers the main line because they are under staffed and busy. I had to file some months back and did it online. I messed up the email address and went in person to fix it. No one was there around 10:30am on a Wednesday. They helped me correct the email for login and walked me through filing the claim. The claim reps are on a rotation — so it changes every month. Each one I had has been helpful. Going to the REA class? Show up early and sit in front and put ur form (they give to u to fill out at the class) on the top of the pile. If u sit in the back — ur last to get interviewed. Be sure to file weekly or bi-​weekly (depends on how you were paid when employed). Also keep track of your job searches. When I had my interview — it went quickly because I had provided the docs and files timely.
The wait period is hard. I had to wait 4 – 6 weeks before the first checks came in. Good thing is they direct deposit it so you don’t have to wait for physical checks.
Stop giving them a bad rap — if ur honest and do your due diligence it will be fine. Have a question and no direct number to your claim rep– go in person to follow up. If you go in with an attitude — u will get it in return. They hear complaints all day — just get to the point and be courteous and they will help you out with a smile.

They don’t tell you that the building doesn’t open to the public until 7:30am, or that while you’re waiting prior to the doors opening that you will be eaten alive by swarms and swarms of mosquitoes. So here’s your warning. Take it from me, wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt if you plan to get here early. Finally they don’t tell you before you get there that if you’re filing for unemployment, you need your bank routing and checking account number or your claim will not go through. The reason for the two stars though is because the process of filling is a lot easier than last I remember and because there is one particular employee (I can’t remember her name) that was extremely helpful and nice. Without her my boyfriend would have been lost and stressed. So thank you to her:)

What can I say about filing for unemployment… Simply put a major HEADACHE… and, forget trying to get them to answer the main phone lines… always busy and you can never leave a message… BUT, through all the frustration comes a blessing… I had some issues with my filing the other week, and a very nice lady named Cheryl called me to help resolve them… She’s informative, and most importantly she talked to me like a real person… I just called her again, to ask some questions and to inform her that I had recently found employment and she was just so genuine in wishing me luck with my new job… She just gives off an all around good aura… I can only imagine how short staffed they are and how frustrating it must be to deal with some of those people filing, but its so comforting to know there are people like Cheryl who can still give excellent customer service through it all… I am not a Unilocaler, but I was just so impressed that I just had to rave about her :)

Unemployment claims are a mess. My daughter received a notification that she has to show up at 8:30am on Monday for employment counseling when the letter arrived in the mail Thursday. She is receiving partial benefits and was scheduled to work Friday 9am-​5pm. After trying several time before 9am and on her breaks, she only got a message that says all lines are busy, call later. I called for her behalf during my lunch period for 45 minutes. Not able to get through.
She has a job interview on Monday at 9:00am conflicting with the unemployment office’s counseling session. So what does she do? Skip an interview that might allow here to get off unemployment, or miss the unemployment meeting and get denied benefits? I’m telling her to go to the interview, but I imagine there are people out there would skip the interview and continue to draw benefits. Not much motivation to go back to work.
If unemployment is low in Hawaii, how come the State can’t handle its claims?

Unemployment. Yay. The place where everyone LOVES to spend their days…
Actually, aside from the inconvenience of actually going in, pulling a number (I pretend I’m at Liliha Bakery, or Chun Wah Kam Noodle Factory) and waiting for the next few hours to be called up to have the questions and issues that have been weighing on my heart for over a week, deemed insignificant… well, it’s not all that bad. Once in a while, the guy or gal at ‘intake’ will actually treat you like a real person. And even if I have a negative interaction, I will eventually be passed on to someone who will at least lend an ear, and tell me what my next steps should be.
Do what they tell you, take your check to the bank, and don’t try to get over (unless you know how to do it well)

Awful, intrusive government. All I want is to switch from my employer provided health care plan to my wife’s employer provided health care plan. It’s my choice and it works for my family. The bureaucracy involved is unbelievable. I can’t opt out of my employer provided health care. My wife can’t add me to hers. We have to get our employers to fill out a request form and this has to be filed every single year. We don’t have local HR offices. We have to spend hours tracking the right people down who can do the forms for our companies. They are six time zones away from us. We are adults making a wise choice for our family and someone on Punchbowl, who doesn’t even know us, gets to decide if our choice is o.k. Horrid administration of a well meaning law. Truly a nightmare.

Been trying to collect unemployment for weeks now and have been denied 2 times. When I call the number I have been on hold on average for 3 hours to speak to someone for 15 minutes. On top of it, each person is more incompetent than the next. When I tried to get someone’s name, she just gave me her last name which is a very general last name. She wouldn’t give me her first name. When I finally received a direct number for her, she wouldn’t return my calls. On top of it, it is frustrating that on 2 occasions they have misunderstood what I said (and believe me, I use kid friendly terms that the filth of Hawaiian would understand) documenting that I said certain things that I never stated. Each time I get a letter from them in the mail, it is always some new form I need to sign or another letter denying me from unemployment.
I have collected unemployment from CA years ago and thought they were difficult to work with. I didn’t know what difficult was until trying to meet someone who wasn’t a full retard at the Department of Labor.
I was unable to file initially online because I was claiming money from 2 states. I have had 2 interviews asking me the same questions because 1 of the lady’s wouldn’t file an additional claim like what someone initially said they would do, but rather insisted on starting the process all over again.
I have faxed letters requesting an appeal and have yet to receive any confirmation. In the mean time I am trying to find a lawyer who can represent me at a hearing while I am in CA until I get a position back in HI. One lawyer stated he couldn’t represent me because he is affiliated with the state (my job was a state job) but shared that as of the last 2 years nearly everyone who has filed for unemployment in HI has lost. They will find anything despite how reasonable your request was to deny you. Hence them deliberately documenting things down that I didn’t exactly say (I wish they taped record these conversations). Also you can only appeal once in HI. Most states allow you to appeal multiple times.
F for the wait times
F for retarded workers
F for not returning calls
F for deliberately being as vague as possible
F for making this a worse situation than it is
My mistake was filing in HI. I should have done this in CA. So far I have been out over $ 1000 before taxes from unemployment.

Good god do I hate lines and waiting, but do I love free money while I look for a job? Oh yeah…

If you know how to Unilocal,you’ll know how to file online. If you qualify and meet their requirements you’re better off doing so. They’ve made their online filing more user friendly as of late, so it doesn’t take a genius IQ to figure it out.
However, if you do file online make sure your IP address registers to a local location. I usually file at home using my router linked to Hawaii RR, but one weekend I filed using my wireless mobile router. Big mistake as it registered to Virginia, it set off a red flag, and I was required to show up to the UI office in person to prove that I was not out of state.
I do suggest going early and blocking out at least half a day because you never know what will happen. Mondays are the busiest days, obviously. Take the bus or get dropped off if you can. It’s a crappy feeling to have to go outside to feed your meter, return and find out that they zipped through the numbers, including yours.

So, I get here around 8 am (I think they open around 7 something, call to make sure) to talk to someone about my missing unemployment check. First you have to show identification and sign in with the guard. Off to your left will be the office, which should be obvious by the amount of people waiting. Let me say 8 am is way too late to get there. Get there when it opens.
As you enter, there are tons of people waiting. There are also tons of convoluted directions everywhere. Vital Info: If you’re there to sign up for (Unemployment Insurance) UI for the first time, you need to fill out their form and drop it in «the box.» BE SURE TO ASK WHICH BOX IS THE CORRECT ONE TO DROP IT IN because there is more than one. This was not what I was here for because I had signed up online (which in itself was convoluted), but I’m just trying to give you some good knowledge before going here. Every now and then one of the nicer ladies will yell out what to do, but it’s still confusing with all the chatting and other people mulling around.
So, on with my story. Anyone else with a problem or question? Take a number. I picked 65 and sat down. I looked over at the guy next to me and saw he had 25. TWENTY-FREAKIN’-FIVE! On top of that, they were only on like 15 AND they had only opened a hour or so ago! Holy cow, this is going to be a long wait. So, I sat.
I started talking to number 25 and he said he put his application in the wrong box last week (re-​read paragraph two above), so he had to come back. D-​oh!
Wait. 20. Wait. 25. Wait. 40. Wait. 45. Good thing my G1 has solitaire. Wait. 60. Wait. 65!
So, I explained that I hadn’t received my check after two weeks. The grumpy lady (of course I didn’t get the nice lady) said wait a little longer or else if I do get it today or the next day, I’ll have to come back, stand in line, have it canceled, and re-​issued. Come back? Yeah, right. My question took less than 15 minutes and I was out. I did receive the check a few days later.
The instructions as for facilitating filing your unemployment are murky at best and is a like a full-​time job navigating the maze in of itself. The online version feels like I’m taking a test. I’m not even going to get into the weekly filing. You should get the point by now.
Anyway, good thing I have a good sense of humor about these kinds of things. I figure it’s government, which one knows is chocked full of red tape, especially in Hawaii. What do you expect?