The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (“DLIR”) announced a new program, Reducing Unemployment Disruption & Driving Economic Regeneration (“RUDDER”).  RUDDER seeks to encourage the positive regeneration of our economy by providing registered Hawaii employers in good standing up to $1,000 for each new employee hired after March 1, 2020 (not to exceed $100,000 per employer).

The program provides an initial $500.00 payment for each new employee to offset training and associated costs upon notification to the DLIR Workforce Development Division (“WDD”) of the initial hiring of the employee.  After six months of continuous employment and upon receipt of certification from the employer that they have retained the employee, the WDD will issue a second payment of $500.00.

RUDDER is designed to help Hawaii’s businesses, such as those providing services to combat COVID-19 and other recession-proof businesses, to reduce the training and associated costs in effort to help our community combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously helping to stabilize Hawaii’s economy.

For information about the RUDDER program, please contact Ms. Maricar Pilotin-Freitas of the Workforce Development Division at (808) 586-8877 or e-mail DLIR.WORKFORCE.DEVELOP@HAWAII.GOV.

Source:  DLIR, Workforce Development Division