Bill Spares Hawaii Businesses From Replenishing UI Trust Fund -- For Now

[TexasTowelie]

Like most local businesses, The Pizza Press had to scramble, adjust and improvise to stay afloat in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pearl City establishment drastically reduced the work hours for its 25 employees, relying on a “skeletal crew” to operate.

“We’re in survival mode to be able to pay our bills, pay our vendors and keep the lights on,” said co-owner Sarah Nguyen. “Every day we’re looking at our numbers. We’re looking at opportunities — what’s working, what’s not working.”

Typically, the business pays around $500 a year per employee in unemployment insurance tax, Nguyen said. Those funds help keep the state’s UI trust fund solvent to cover unemployment claims.

But COVID-19 decimated Hawaii’s economy, and the $600 million that was in the fund when the pandemic hit evaporated in less than three months as unemployment reached staggering levels as high as 25%.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/02/bill-spares-hawaii-businesses-from-replenishing-ui-trust-fund-for-now/

[Normanart]

1. Heard on Hawaiʻi Public Radio

The payment per employee would have jumped to more than $2500 a year.