Here are Tuesdays (April 21st, 2020) updates for Gig, Rideshare, Self-employed, Independent Contractors, Freelancers, etc. regarding Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) applications:
- [UBER]: “Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Tuesday launched a website to help its ride-hail and delivery drivers navigate the intricate U.S. unemployment system, with many gig workers still waiting to receive jobless pay provided under a U.S. coronavirus response bill…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [COLORADO]: “Self-employed applicants are being asked to submit their tax returns for either 2018 or 2019. But Tewksbury said many business owners claim as many allowable expenses as they can to show as small an income number as possible. That bottom-line number on the Schedule C of the tax return is what the state uses to determine how much it will pay in claims. In Tewksbury’s case, it worked out to $213 a week…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [ILLINOIS]: “Independent contractors like her won’t be able to apply for benefits passed as part of the federal CARES Act until May 11, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. That’s 51 days after the stay-at-home order began. Sole proprietors, freelancers and gig economy workers will have to wait as well…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [MISSISSIPPI]: “The governor and Mississippi Department of Employment Security director Jackie Turner also announced Tuesday that pandemic unemployment benefits are now available to thousands of people who are self-employed or are gig workers, independent contractors or employees of charities and faith-based organizations…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [NEW YORK]: “Small business owners and independent contractors should have an easier time applying for unemployment benefits with the newest application from the state Department of Labor, which aligns with the new COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Gig workers, self-employed people and many others initially had to apply for traditional unemployment insurance only to be rejected before they could apply for the coronavirus pandemic assistance. The changes allow New Yorkers to fill out one form to get the benefits…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [CALIFORNIA]: “One of the biggest frustrations for self-employed Californians and independent contractors is they haven’t yet been able to apply for any of this money — and still can’t until April 28. That’s when EDD estimates it will have a one-stop website available for this part of the labor force to apply for funds through the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, or PUA. Once the website starts up, state officials have pledged that people will be able to receive their benefits within one to two days of applying…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [HAWAII]: “Murakami said workers with existing claims should start seeing an extra $600 a week in federal funds from the CARES Act on Wednesday to augment their state claims. But it’s going to take longer for gig workers to get their federal funds, he said. Self-employed workers that have applied through the state have been denied with the exception of Uber and Lyft, which the state considers covered employees who may receive state funds. Murakami said state unemployment insurance trust money is not available to gig workers outside of Uber and Lyft so their claims need to be processed through a different system set up to distribute the federal CARES Act funds…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [PENNSYLVANIA]: “On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry announced it had “successfully processed” around 50,000 claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), a federal program which expands jobless benefits to workers who are usually ineligible, such as temps, freelancers and the self-employed, including gig workers. While the launch makes progress towards offering a new form of assistance, it falls short of users’ expectations and needs, leaving some frustrated. For starters, the state is not ready to actually give out the funds, and errors in the application and technological glitches have locked out eligible applicants…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [MASSACHUSETTS]: “The Baker-Polito Administration announced Monday that Massachusetts residents who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits can now apply online for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. The new federal PUA program provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits who are unable to work because of a COVID-19-related reason but are not eligible for regular or extended unemployment benefits. This includes self-employed workers, independent contractors, gig economy workers, and those with limited work history. Applicants can learn more and apply…” [FULL ARTICLE]
- [FLORIDA]: “Drivers for Uber and Lyft, for example, don’t qualify for regular state unemployment checks, even though their earnings have been hard hit because there hasn’t been demand for ride-share services. But under the $2 trillion federal coronavirus aid package, they qualify for aid meant to ease the financial pain wrought by the outbreak. “We’ve heard from drivers in the last few weeks across the state asking for guidance on how to apply for these benefits. Drivers are just looking for direction, because there has been some confusion out there about how to access these funds,” said Javi Correoso, a Miami-based spokesman for Uber… [FULL ARTICLE]
It’s supposed to be live by Wednesday this week, stay tuned~
I cannot find and application on a Nevada website for self-employed gig workers do you know if Nevada has an application yet
Check back Sunday for podcast link, I will be posting it Sunday at 1pm and it will go through PUA~
Any word yet for the self-employed application in Nevada
Unfortunately, Nevada does not have the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) integrated yet, right now it is slated for for early May~ keeping checking back~ we update daily~
Has the gig worker application been finished yet for Nevada