DLIR Launches Adjudication Unit for Unemployment Insurance Claims

One-hundred trained adjudicators will help the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) process the backlog of unemployment claims.

DLIR is contracting services with Maximus Inc., which is also operating a virtual call center for the department. Adjudication is the investigation and resolution of eligibility issues raised and is a manual process that requires interested parties to be provided due process to respond to the eligibility issue. Eligibility issues arise from several places including the initial claim, weekly claim, and employer contact, among others.

“Even during this COVID-19 Pandemic most applicants received benefits or a monetary determination explaining why they were not eligible within three weeks of filing,” said DLIR Director Anne Eustaquio. “The backlog ineligibility decisions are largely related to whether the claimant quit or was fired or whether the claimant is immediately available for work.”

The adjudicators will call both claimants and employers from an 808 number. Claimants and employers not answering calls have been problematic as some phone network services identify the calls as spam or telemarketers.

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