PART I.  DEFINITIONS

 

§383-1 Definitions, generally.  As used in this chapter, unless the contextclearly requires otherwise:

"Administrationfund" means the special unemployment insurance administration fundestablished pursuant to section 383-127.

"Alternativebase period" means the four completed calendar quarters immediatelypreceding the first day of an individual's benefit year.

"Americanvessel" means any vessel documented or numbered under the laws of theUnited States; and includes any vessel which is neither documented or numberedunder the laws of the United States nor documented under the laws of anyforeign country, if its crew is employed solely by one or more citizens orresidents of the United States or corporations organized under the laws of theUnited States or of any state.

"Attached to aregular employer" [Definition repealed July 1, 2012.  L 2009, c 170, §7.]means:

(1)  The employee is beingoffered work each week by the employee's regular employer; or

(2)  If no work is beingoffered:

(A)  The employer ismaintaining the individual on the payroll by paying for a medical insuranceplan or by maintaining the employee's sick leave or vacation credits; or

(B)  There is adefinite return to work date with the same employer within eight weeks.

"Baseperiod," with respect to benefit years beginning after June 30, 1951,means the four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first dayof an individual's benefit year.  With respect to benefit years beginning onand after October 1, 1989, the base period means the first four of thelast five completed calendar quarters preceding the first day of anindividual's benefit year.

"Benefits"means the money payments payable to an individual, as provided in this chapter,with respect to the individual's unemployment.

"Benefityear" with respect to any individual means the one-year period beginningwith the first day of the first week with respect to which the individual firstfiles a valid claim for benefits and thereafter the one-year period beginningwith the first day of the first week with respect to which the individual nextfiles a valid claim for benefits after the termination of the individual's lastpreceding benefit year.  Any claim for benefits made in accordance with section383-32 shall be deemed a "valid claim" for the purpose of thisparagraph if the individual has satisfied the conditions required under section383-29(a)(5).  Nothing in sections 383-29 and 383-30, except section383-29(a)(5), shall affect the filing of a "valid claim" or theestablishment of a "benefit year".  For the purposes of thisparagraph a week with respect to which an individual files a valid claim shallbe deemed to be "in", "within", or "during" thatbenefit year which includes the greater part of such week.

"Calendarquarter" means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending onMarch 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31, or theequivalent thereof, as the department may by rule prescribe.

"Contributions"means the money payments required by this chapter to be made into the stateunemployment compensation fund by any employing unit on account of havingindividuals in its employ.

"Department"means the department of labor and industrial relations.

"Director"means the director of labor and industrial relations of the State.

"Employer"means:

(1)  Any employing unitwhich for some portion of a day within the current calendar year has or had inemployment one or more individuals; and

(2)  For the effectiveperiod of its election pursuant to section 383-77, any other employing unitwhich has elected to become subject to this chapter.

"Employingunit" means any individual or type of organization, including the State,any of its political subdivisions, any instrumentality of the State or itspolitical subdivisions, any partnership, association, trust, estate,joint-stock company, insurance company, or corporation, whether domestic orforeign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee, or successor of anyof the foregoing, or the legal representative of a deceased person, which hasor subsequent to January 1, 1937, had one or more individuals performingservices for it within this State.

(1)  All individualsperforming services within this State for any employing unit which maintainstwo or more separate establishments within this State shall be deemed to beperforming services for a single employing unit for all the purposes of thischapter.

(2)  Each individualemployed to perform or to assist in performing the work of any person in theservice of an employing unit shall be deemed to be engaged by the employingunit for all the purposes of this chapter, whether the individual was hired orpaid directly by the employing unit or by such person, provided the employingunit had actual or constructive knowledge of the work.

"Employmentoffice" means a free public employment office or branch thereof operatedby the State or any other state as a part of a state-controlled system ofpublic employment offices or by a federal agency charged with theadministration of an unemployment compensation program or free publicemployment offices.

"FederalUnemployment Tax Act" means chapter 23 of subtitle C of the InternalRevenue Code of 1954.

"Full-timehours" or "full-time work" [Definition repealed July 1, 2012. L 2009, c 170, §7.] means a forty-hour work week unless regardedotherwise according to the standard practice, custom, or agreement in aparticular trade, occupation, or business.

"Fund"means the unemployment compensation fund established by this chapter.

"Insuredwork" means employment for employers.

"Owner-employee"means a person who has performed services for an employing unit as defined inthis section, and who is or has been a shareholder owning twenty-five per centor more of the corporation's common stock, and director or officer, or both, ofa corporation which is or was the employing unit or who exercises a substantialdegree of control over the direction of corporate activities.

"Partialunemployment" or "partially unemployed" [Definition repealedJuly 1, 2012.  L 2009, c 170, §7.] means the unemployment of anyindividual who, during a particular week, was still attached to thatindividual's regular employer, had no earnings or earned less than thatindividual's weekly benefit amount, and who worked less than or did not workthat individual's normal, customary full-time hours for the individual'sregular employer because of a lack of full-time work.

"Recipient ofsocial service payments" includes:

(1)  A person who is an eligiblerecipient of social services such as attendant care and day care services; and

(2)  A corporation orprivate agency that contracts directly with the department of human services toprovide attendant care and day care authorized under the Social Security Act,as amended.

"Referee"means the referee for unemployment compensation appeals.

"Registered forwork" or "registration for work" [Definition repealed July 1,2012. L 2009, c 170, §7.] means that an individual shall provideinformation to the employment office to be posted on the department's internetjob-matching system, including but not limited to the individual's name, jobskills, education, training, prior employment history and work duties,preferred working conditions, occupational licenses, and other relevantoccupational information to facilitate work search efforts by the individualand increase job referrals by the employment office.  The information shall beposted with the department's assistance or independently by the individual.  Theemployment office shall provide the necessary information to the unemploymentoffice for purposes of determining that the individual's registration for workrequirements has been met.

"State"includes the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, PuertoRico, and Virgin Islands.

"Unemployment". An individual shall be deemed "unemployed" in any week during whichthe individual performs no services and with respect to which no wages arepayable to the individual, or in any week of less than full-time work if thewages payable to the individual with respect to such week are less than theindividual's weekly benefit amount.  The department shall prescribe rulesapplicable to unemployed individuals making such distinctions in the proceduresas to total unemployment, part-total unemployment, partial unemployment, ofindividuals attached to their regular jobs, and other forms of short-time work,as the department deems necessary.  "Week of unemployment" means aweek in which an individual is deemed unemployed.

"Week"means any period of seven consecutive days as the department may by ruleprescribe.

"Weeks ofemployment" means all those weeks within each of which the individual hasperformed services in employment for not less than two days or four hours perweek for one or more employers subject to this chapter or with respect to whichthe individual has received remuneration from one or more employers subject tothis chapter in the form of vacation, holiday, or sickness pay or similarremuneration. [L 1939, c 219, pt of §1; am L 1941, c 304, §1, subs 1-7, 9-11,13, 14; am L 1943, c 160, §1, subs 1, 2; RL 1945, §4202; am L 1947, c 75,§1(1); am L 1951, c 195, §1(1); am L 1953, c 41, §1(1); RL 1955, §93-1; am L1957, c 115, §1(a) and c 205, §1(a); am L 1959, c 222, §1; am L Sp 1959 2d, c1, §27; am L 1963, c 174, §3; am L 1964, c 61, §2; HRS §383-1; am L 1969, c 6,§1; am L 1974, c 40, §1; am L 1976, c 157, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 32, §1and c 162, §1; am L 1987, c 119, §2; am L 2003, c 219, §1; am L 2007, c 259, §2;am L 2009, c 170, §3]

 

Case Notes

 

  Probationary teachers receivingwages but not performing services during summer are not unemployed.  56 H. 590,546 P.2d 1.

  President of family corporation,who during three-week period spent three hours preparing bids, was"unemployed".  66 H. 425, 664 P.2d 734.

  Severance payments are not wagesor remuneration similar to vacation, sickness or holiday pay.  Right of recalldoes not cause employment relationship to continue.  67 H. 588, 699 P.2d 17.

  Temporary disability benefitsconstitute "sickness pay or similar remuneration"; claimantsreceiving those benefits are not "unemployed".  6 H. App. 195, 715P.2d 1278.

  Cited:  35 H. 855, 870; 46 H. 140,145, 377 P.2d 715; 46 H. 164, 166, 377 P.2d 932.