University of Hawaii v. Befitel
Hawaii Supreme Court
100 P.3d 55, 105 Haw. 485 (2004)
- Written by Jennifer Flinn, JD
Facts
Manaiakalani Kalua became a full-time student at the University of Hawaii (plaintiff) in 1996. In the summer of 1998, Kalua worked as a student-employee on the university campus. Kalua worked 40 hours per week during the summer and took no summer classes. Kalua’s position was only open to university students. In the fall, Kalua returned to his classes full-time. Kalua subsequently filed a claim for unemployment benefits based on his employment with the university. The Unemployment Insurance Division (the department) (defendant) approved the claim. The university appealed the department’s decision based on a Hawaii statute stating that a student’s employment with a university was not employment for the purposes of unemployment benefits if the student was enrolled in and regularly attending classes at the university. A hearing was held, and the appeals officer reversed the department’s approval of the claim. The department filed a written request for a reopening of the decision, which the appeals officer granted. The appeals officer reversed her earlier decision and ruled that Kalua was entitled to benefits because Kalua was not enrolled in classes during the summer of 1998. The university appealed the decision to the trial court, which reversed the appeals officer’s decision and ruled that Kalua was not entitled to benefits. The department appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Acoba, J.)
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