Kokua Line: Job search advised but not required for people to receive extended unemployment aid

Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)

Dec. 10--Question : I have been unemployed since April due to the pandemic. My unemployment benefits are exhausted and I am eligible for extended benefits for 13 weeks. Is the three-jobs-per-week job search requiredI thought the governor had waived that and that the waiver was still valid. However, the unemployment office told me to post my resume and list three job searches per week. Could you clarify this ?

Answer : "The job search requirement is still waived pursuant to the governor's Emergency Proclamation, through Dec. 31. We don't have any plans to revoke and assume there will be another one extending that date, " Bill Kunstman, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said in an email.

The department's Unemployment Insurance division "is advising individuals to post resumes and search for work, but that's only advising not requiring, " he said.

So the answer to your question is no, you don't have to search for work to receive extended UI benefits.

Even though it's not required, it seems wise for you to look for a new job, especially since you are completely out of work, and not temporarily furloughed awaiting a call back to your former position.

We're sorry that you are in this situation, like so many others in Hawaii, which has the highest unemployment rate in the country as the pandemic persists.

Experts generally say that the longer a person is completely out of work, the harder it can be for them to find a new job, as skills degrade and potential employers question long gaps in work history. That may be different now, given the obvious reasons for Hawaii's mass unemployment, but experts still encourage the unemployed to do all they can to stay active, develop useful skills and seek new jobs.

Q : Now that Gov. Ige has announced furloughs for many state workers (starting in January ), will they be eligible for unemployment benefits ?

A : No, not based on the two-days-a-month furlough that the governor has announced so far. Those unpaid days off would amount to a pay cut and would not make a worker eligible for UI, Kunstman confirmed.

Disability parking Several readers have asked about disability parking placards, so here is a recent update from Bryan K. Mick, a spokesman for the state Disability and Communication Access Board :

"The governor has extended the expiration date on the three disability parking permit types until Dec. 31, 2020, provided a temporary (red ) placard must have been issued on or after Nov. 1, 2019, and a special license plate must have expired on or after March 31, 2020. It is very possible this won't be extended past the Dec. 31, 2020, date, so we encourage everyone to renew their parking permits now if their qualifying disability is still present. Forms and instructions are posted online at or people can call 808-586-8121.

"Also, we recently launched a new web page where people can report a vehicle with a disability parking permit that is not using it properly. An example might be the vehicle that is partially parked in the access aisle. If we receive a concern submitted via this web page, we can send educational material to the permittee." Find the web page at.

To be clear, the web form is to report misuse of a disability parking permit or placard. It is not to report vehicles that lack disability placards or plates and are illegally parked in spaces reserved for the disabled. DCAB says those infractions should be reported to the parking lot manager or the police, depending on the circumstances.------Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813 ; call 529-4773 ; fax 529-4750 ; or email kokualine @staradvertiser.com.------

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