Hawaii unemployment issues to be addressed in-person starting Sept. 7
![STAR-ADVERTISER
The Unemployment Insurance Claims office was seen in March 2020 in Honolulu. People with unemployment benefit issues will be able to meet in person with state labor officials on all islands beginning Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day.](https://staradvertiser.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/web1_CTY-unemployment-23176.jpg)
STAR-ADVERTISER
The Unemployment Insurance Claims office was seen in March 2020 in Honolulu. People with unemployment benefit issues will be able to meet in person with state labor officials on all islands beginning Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day.
People with unemployment benefit issues will be able to meet in person with state labor officials on all islands beginning Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day.
Anne Perreira-Eustaquio, director of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Spotlight Hawaii livestream show today that every DLIR office will handle walk-ins in the mornings and scheduled appointments in the afternoons.
The in-person meetings are intended to address frustrations from people who have been unable to get through to DLIR’s call center, which continues to receive hundreds of calls each day. Perreira-Eustaquio encouraged unemployed people to apply for call center positions.
For the upcoming in-person meetings, Perreira-Eustaquio said DLIR is anticipating long lines and working on how to streamline the process. Appointments will be able to be made three weeks in advance, she said.
DLIR officials are still working on a system to make appointments at each of the state’s five DLIR offices, spokesman Bill Kunstman said.
The offices are open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.