Partial Unemployment in Hawaii: Eligibility, Filing, and Benefits

If your hours in Hawaii get cut because your employer doesn’t have enough work, you can collect partial unemployment to cover part of the gap. The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) runs the program, and the first $150 you earn in a week doesn’t reduce your check at all.¹ For 2026, the maximum weekly benefit amount is $868.²

Who Qualifies

Three things must be true for the week you’re claiming. You’re still attached to your regular employer. You worked fewer than your normal full-time hours because the employer didn’t have enough work. And your gross earnings for that week came in below your weekly benefit amount (WBA).³ The reduced schedule has to result from a lack of full-time work, not from your own choice to cut back or your unavailability for shifts the employer offered.⁴

Being “attached” means you have an expectation of returning to your full schedule. When your employer confirms that attachment, you’re exempt from the usual requirement to register for work and make job search contacts. That exemption disappears if your employer doesn’t respond to the DLIR’s verification within five working days; at that point you’d need to register for work and start searching like a fully unemployed claimant.³

If you earn more than your WBA in any given week, you’re ineligible for that week but you don’t lose your claim. Skip the certification for that week and resume filing when your hours drop again.

How Your Weekly Check Is Calculated

The first $150 you earn in a week is disregarded entirely. Anything above $150 comes off your WBA dollar-for-dollar.¹

Say your WBA is $600 and you earned $250 in a reduced-hours week. The first $150 is ignored, leaving $100 in countable earnings. That $100 comes off your $600 WBA, so your partial unemployment payment would be $500. You keep more total money (wages plus benefits) than if you stayed home entirely.

If your earnings for the week equal or exceed your WBA, you get nothing for that week. No action needed on the claim itself.

How to File

Everything runs through the state’s online system at huiclaims.hawaii.gov.⁵ Start with the initial unemployment insurance application. Have your Social Security number, your employer’s name, address, and phone number, your employment history for the past 18 months, and your bank routing and account numbers ready before you begin.⁶ The system won’t let you make changes after you submit, so double-check everything.

Once the application goes through, the DLIR mails Form UC-348 (“Verification of Partial Unemployment Status”) to your employer. The employer confirms that you have a definite return-to-work date, that they’re maintaining your health insurance or leave credits, or that you’ll be working reduced hours each week because of insufficient work.³ That verification is what unlocks your partial unemployment status and the work-search exemption.

After the initial application, file a weekly claim certification online for every week you worked less than full time or had no work at all. You have seven days from the week-ending date to file each certification.³ Miss that window and you risk losing benefits for that week.

What Your Employer Has to Do

Your employer has its own weekly reporting obligation. Under Hawaii law, the employer must submit a low earnings report through the DLIR’s online portal within five working days after the end of each week or weekly pay period, listing your name, Social Security number, gross earnings, the week-ending date, and the reason your hours were cut.⁷

If the employer doesn’t file on time, the DLIR will determine your eligibility based on your own certification of employment and earnings.⁷ In practice that often means delays and follow-up questions. A polite reminder to your employer that the report is legally required tends to move things along.

How Long You Can Collect

Your claim is active for a one-year period, during which you can collect benefits for up to 26 weeks of total unemployment.⁸ Partial weeks count toward that cap, but a partial week uses less of your total benefit allowance than a full week would, so a long stretch of reduced hours stretches further than 26 weeks of complete layoff.

Taxes on Partial Benefits

Partial unemployment benefits are taxable at the federal level. Early in the following year, you’ll get Form 1099-G showing total benefits paid in Box 1 and any federal tax withheld in Box 4. You report the Box 1 amount on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 7, and claim any withholding on line 25b of your Form 1040.⁹

If you didn’t elect withholding, the full amount is still taxable; you’ll just owe it when you file. Setting aside roughly 10–15% of each payment prevents a surprise bill in April. Hawaii has a state income tax, so check with the Hawaii Department of Taxation for your state reporting obligations.

If Your Claim Is Denied

Every determination comes with information about your appeal rights. The deadline is tight: 10 days from the mailing date of the determination. File within 30 days and you can still get a hearing, but only if you show good cause for the delay.¹⁰

Once you file, the case moves to the Employment Security Appeals Referees’ Office (ESARO). A hearing is typically scheduled 21 to 27 days later. The appeals officer hears the case fresh and isn’t bound by the original determination. You can bring a representative and witnesses, and the hearing is recorded. Both telephone and in-person hearings are available.¹⁰

Most partial unemployment disputes come down to whether the employer confirmed the claimant’s status or whether reported earnings matched. Pay stubs organized by week make a real difference at the hearing.

Penalties for False Statements

The DLIR cross-references your weekly certifications against your employer’s low earnings reports, so inaccurate numbers surface quickly.

Knowingly making a false statement or hiding a material fact to collect benefits you’re not owed is a crime. If the overpayment is $300 or less, it’s a misdemeanor, which in Hawaii carries up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.¹¹¹²¹³ If the overpayment exceeds $300, the charge is a class C felony with up to five years in prison.¹⁴

Even without criminal prosecution, the DLIR can impose an administrative disqualification. If the department finds you made a false statement within the past 24 months, you lose eligibility starting with the week of the determination and continuing for the next 24 consecutive calendar months.¹⁵ The criminal and administrative penalties are alternatives; you’ll face one or the other for the same offense, not both.¹¹

1
State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Unemployment Insurance – Frequently Asked Questions
2
State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Tax Rate Schedule and Weekly Benefit Amount
3
State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Partial Unemployment Benefits
4
Legal Information Institute. Hawaii Code R. 12-5-1 – Definitions
5
State of Hawaii Unemployment Insurance. Information about Filing Online
6
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Unemployment Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
7
Justia. Hawaii Code 383-29.9 – Partial Unemployment
8
State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. How Much Do I Qualify for and How Long Can I Collect
9
Internal Revenue Service. Unemployment Compensation
10
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Appeals Process
11
Justia. Hawaii Code 383-141 – Falsely Obtaining Benefits, Etc.
12
Justia. Hawaii Code 706-663 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor
13
Justia. Hawaii Code 706-640 – Authorized Fines
14
Justia. Hawaii Code 706-660 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Class B and C Felonies
15
FindLaw. Hawaii Revised Statutes 383-30