Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program Updates [Friday May 1st]

.:: CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR STATES PUA FILING STATUS ::.

• [CONNECTICUT]:    “The Connecticut Department of Labor began accepting claim applications for the self-employed, many who are eligible to collect unemployment insurance benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Federal guidelines require that self-employed individuals, including independent contractors and “gig”workers first apply through the state unemployment system. Then, applicants must receive a determination notice in the mail from the the state labor department before they can apply on the newly-designed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance online system. Both the state and federal system are located…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [MAINE]:    “The Maine Department of Labor is asking self-employed individuals seeking to file for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance follow a filing schedule to help reduce internet traffic to the site when filing opens Friday, May 1 at 8 a.m. The DOL notes the application will be available 24/7 after 8 a.m. on May 1, and a claim for this week can be filed anytime between the May 1 opening and 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The filing schedule is as follows:Last names A-H file from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Last names I-Q file from 10 a.m. to Noon Last names R-Z file from Noon to 2 p.m. It is recommended that those who miss their filing time slot file after 2 p.m. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is a new federal program which expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits to certain categories…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [COLORADO]:    “Additionally, a total of $28.7 million in PUA unemployment benefits were paid to gig workers and self-employed workers in Colorado last week. Regular unemployment benefits come out of the state’s unemployment trust fund and the federal PUA and PUC benefits are paid out and reimbursed by the federal government. Officials address call center issues, return-to-work guidance CDLE officials said in a briefing Thursday morning that people who were still having issues filing for PUA versus regular unemployment likely had over $2,500 in W-2 wages sometime in the last 18 months – something written into the federal CARES Act that forces those people to exhaust their regular unemployment benefits before they are eligible for regular benefits…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [OHIO]:    “As the number of Ohioans who’ve applied for state unemployment benefits grows to more than one million, 1099, or “gig workers” are getting a breath of air. According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 139,345 Ohioans have applied for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, since the preregistering portal launched last Friday. “It was actually pretty easy,” Darcee Williams, a hair stylist and salon owner in Southeast Ohio, said. “You put all your information in so that you can, basically, when they email you, you’re good to go.”…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [OREGON]:    “Independent contractors or gig workers can know receive relief specific to your type of work. To apply you must go to the state’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance page. There, you will fill out six pages worth of information. You can either send in your application via email or by fax…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [NEVADA]:   “As of now, the most tangible guidance the state is offering gig workers, part-timers, the self-employed, and workers classified as independent contractors who are out of work and money through no fault of their own is a couple sentences on the Frequently Asked Questions page of DETR’s website: “If you are self-employed, 1099, or a gig worker, we ask that you DO NOT attempt to file for unemployment insurance benefits at this time. We ask that you monitor updated information at the DETR COVID-19 Information for Claimants and Employers page for future instructions.”…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [WYOMING]:    “The Department of Workforce Services is now accepting Unemployment Insurance benefits applications from those individuals who do not qualify for regular Unemployment Insurance benefits, but do qualify for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. This program, which is part of the CARES Act, provides up to 39 weeks of Unemployment Insurance benefits for those who are self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers, those who have exhausted their regular and extended benefits and others…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [NEW JERSEY]:    “Freelancers, independent contractors and self-employed residents will see their long-awaited unemployment payments on May 5, under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, a federal pot of money for gig workers who’ve lost their income during the COVID-19 recession…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [PHILADELPHIA]:    “The commonwealth’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program allows gig workers and self-employed people to file for unemployment assistance, which they can’t typically do. Within the week, Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry will start rolling out payments and information about how to use the PUA program, says Susan Dickinson, policy director for the Pennsylvania unemployment office…” [FULL ARTICLE]