Scott Murakami, the director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, joined the COVID-19 Care Conversation on Tuesday to take viewer questions about filing for unemployment.

Murakami says they are receiving roughly 8,000 claims per day, which is down from as many as 16,000 when the state-wide shutdown first began to impact local businesses.

The department has opened a new call center, housed in the Entrepreneur’s Sandbox in Kakaako, with support from the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation. Before COVID-19 hit the islands, the department had just seven staff members, but they have added an additional 76 staff members to process claims.

Murakami answered questions about when people can expect to receive benefits, self-employed independent contractors who typically file a 1099 tax form, and whether furloughed workers can receive benefits, among others.

He also shared the following resource list:

>> Web form: https://huiclaims2020.hawaii.gov/initial-claim

>> COVID DLIR FAQS: https://labor.hawaii.gov/covid-19-labor-faqs/

>> HUI Password Reset: (833) 901-2272

>> UI Phone Appointments: (833) 901-2275

Watch here and ask questions through our Facebook page.

Be sure to join us Wednesday, when U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz will be our guest.

——

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s COVID-19 Care Conversation airs live daily at 10:30 a.m. Yunji de Nies and Ryan Kalei Tsuji discuss the latest news, resources and community concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in Hawaii.