You may qualify for partial unemployment benefits

In December 2008, Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S) imposed a one-week furlough on all employees for either the week of December 8 or December 15. A full-time employee of HC&S went to the Unemployment Insurance office and was told the December furlough would be his waiting period and he would be paid for future furloughs. He believed the word of the unemployment officer and did not file a claim.

HC&S then imposed a two-week furlough in 2009. They allowed employees to determine when they would take that furlough. On April 5, 2009, the HC&S worker applied for unemployment benefits for March 30 to April 5. He was informed that this would be his waiting period.

The worker was told back in December of 2008 that this first furlough would serve as his waiting period. His ILWU Business Agent stepped in to help the worker and advised him to file a claim for the December 2008 week. He filed the claim on April 23 and explained the delay was due to good cause—he was just following the information given to him by the unemployment office.

On June 9, 2009 the Department of Labor (DOL) rejected his claim as being untimely because it was more than 28 days after the last day in December 2008. The Department of Labor argued that the good cause exception was only for total unemployment and not for partial unemployment.

The ILWU referred the case to the union’s attorneys and helped the worker file an appeal on June 12, 2009. 

The DOL held a hearing on July 9 and upheld the denial of the worker’s claim. The ILWU attorney and the worker appealed and requested reopening of the issue on August 7, 2009. A court hearing was held on April 15, 2011.

The ILWU attorney argued that the law only placed a time limit on claims for benefits and there was no time limit on appealing the waiting period. The Court agreed and ruled that December 2008 served as his waiting period and the member was entitled to unemployment benefits for March 30 to April 5, 2009.

Get it in writing 
The worker should have filed a claim for the December 2008 furlough, which would have established his claim in writing. The verbal statement of the unemployment officer was not enough to establish a claim. He would have been informed that the first week would serve as the waiting period. Then in April 2009, he could file a claim for continuing benefits and be paid for that period.

Because he failed to file for unemployment benefits in December 2008, the court had to decide whether his April 23, 2009 appeal on the waiting period for December 2008 was valid. Fortunately, the court agreed with the ILWU attorney that the law does not impose a time limit on appealing the waiting period, only for appealing benefits. This applies to both full and partial unemployment. This appears to open the door to allow any unemployed worker to back track and appeal their waiting period if they were previously unemployed (within the previous 12 months) but failed to apply for unemployment benefits at that time.

The lesson: file immediately 
All ILWU members are advised to file for unemployment benefits immediately and within the first week you are unemployed. If you are denied benefits, you should continue to submit claims for benefits every week. If you appeal and win the appeal, you will only be paid for those weeks for which you submitted claims. If you are partially unemployed, you should have your employer complete a “Weekly Report of Low Earnings.”

You should appeal your waiting period if you were previously unemployed or partially unemployed for seven calendar days and didn’t file for unemployment benefits for previous periods.

Partial Unemployment 
If you are still attached to your regular employer, worked less than your full-time hours, and earned less than your weekly benefit amount during a week, then you may be eligible to file an initial claim for partial benefits, which can be backdated 28 calendar days to the week of less than full-time employment.

To qualify for partial benefits for a week, you must have accepted all work offered by the employer, file a claim certification for that week within 28 calendar days from the week-ending date, and have your employment status, earnings, and acceptance of all work offered verified by the employer

A “Weekly Report of Low Earnings” must also be completed by the employer and submitted before you can be paid for a week of partial unemployment.

When you file an initial claim for partial unemployment, a supply of low earnings report forms will be provided to you. If necessary, additional forms can be obtained from your local unemployment office. If you are not scheduled to work for four consecutive weeks, or do not have a definite recall date within four consecutive weeks, you may be considered to be totally unemployed and will be required to register for work with the Workforce Development Division, and to make an active search for work. If you expect to obtain work through your union, you will need to register for work and verify that you are a member in good standing. If your regular employer terminates your employment, file an additional claim immediately via Hawaii Tele-Claim.

Part-Total Claims 
If you are working part-time on a regular basis while seeking full-time employment, you must file your claim certifications within seven calendar days after the week-ending date of your weekly claim, or after the second week-ending date of your bi-weekly claim.

You must report your gross earnings from your part-time job for each week that you claim, even if you have not yet been paid. A “Weekly Report of Low Earnings” to verify your earnings and acceptance of all work offered must be completed by your employer and submitted to your local claims office for each week that you file before payment can be made.

Any casual employment—such as yard work—must also be reported and the gross earnings deducted from the week in which you worked. These earnings do not need to be verified with a low earnings report.

Contact the union 
If you have any questions or need help and advice on unemployment insurance benefits, you can always talk with your ILWU business agent.