Hawaii to Begin Paying Out UI Benefits Through MEUC Program

The state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR) will start processing MEUC applications beginning on June 17, 2021.

Claimants are eligible for MEUC if, in addition to W-2 wages, they earned a net income of at least $5,000 in self-employment work in the most recent taxable year before they applied for unemployment benefits. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) recipients are not eligible for MEUC.

“MEUC is another lifeline available for people struggling through the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic,” said DLIR Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio. “MEUC was created in response to workers whose past income wasn’t fully being counted and now that the program has launched, claimants who have side income will see an increase in their weekly benefit amount.”

MEUC benefits are available for the week ending Jan. 2, 2021, through the week ending Sept. 4, 2021. Claimants who think they may be eligible for MEUC benefits will need to submit proof of qualifying income to the department. Claimants will need to apply through the web at pua.hawaii.gov.

None of the benefits described above, nor unemployment benefits of any kind, are available to employees who are terminated for cause, quit their job without good cause, or refuse to return to work. Attempts to collect benefit payments in these situations could be viewed as fraudulent. Investigation of job separation is part of the eligibility determination process.

For more information about MEUC, visit the DLIR’s Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation FAQs at: https://www.hawaiiunemploymentinfo.com/faqs-individuals/#MEUC. 

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