Unemployment Question - falling through the cracks

April 2, 2020 2:08 PM

I have been out of the formal workforce for 5 years. I started a business last year but that ended with my lease, and since then I have been doing freelance art jobs. I recently started working part time at a studio and they don't hire people directly, rather "1099" them, and there was no formal work contract. That ended with the quarantine order here in NYC. I was hired months ago to work for The Census with a start date around March 10, but they are frozen right now. My husband has been unemployed for 2 years, aside from a couple of freelance contract jobs that were very short term. So, does anyone know if I should/could apply for unemployment. Complications below:

In the past few days, my husband got another contract job that should last for 8 weeks. We don't know if that might potentially end sooner due to chaos, or if it will go all the way through. It is very well paid, but we don't know yet when the payments will come as it isn't a regular payroll situation. In these circumstances, should I go ahead and apply for unemployment in order to ensure that our family has *something coming in? (We have a young child and are in NYC, scared about what the future will bring). And also could I do that? I haven't had a real payroll job, with UI insurance taken out in quite a long time. As I understand it, the unemployment portion of the recent law that was passed has some benefit to freelancers and also to people who had a job to start that has not happened due to Covid. Anyone have advice or information to share?

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Yes, you should apply for unemployment. The new federal legislation created "Pandemic Unemployment Insurance" which makes it possible for people who are not traditionally eligible for unemployment - including but not limited to 1099 independent contractors and people who are self-employed - to qualify for and access unemployment. The NY Department of Labor created a helpful table illustrating who is eligible. They have a more detailed description here.
posted by cimton at 2:18 PM on April 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

Ask A Manager seems to say that yes, you now qualify even if you might not have in the past.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:20 PM on April 2, 2020

Generally speaking, if anyone thinks they might qualify for unemployment (but isn’t sure if they do), they should go ahead and apply. The applicant is responsible for honestly answering the questions on the application; the unemployment office is responsible for determining whether the applicant is eligible.

And in this particular situation, it does sound like you will be eligible - I’d make sure to include information on your application about both your 1099 job that ended and the census job that didn’t start.
posted by insectosaurus at 2:48 PM on April 2, 2020 [3 favorites]

Apply right away, as it will definitely take time to process and it's not totally clear what the effective start date for any individual's benefits will be. Just be scrupulously honest. Good luck to you.
posted by praemunire at 3:30 PM on April 2, 2020

As I understand it, the unemployment portion of the recent law that was passed has some benefit to freelancers and also to people who had a job to start that has not happened due to Covid. Anyone have advice or information to share?

I have a freelance (1099) colleague in NYC and they are being instructed to file for unemployment with NY State, get denied, then they will be able to reapply for the "Pandemic Unemployment Assistance".

Here's some NY specific information and a FAQ for Freelancers
posted by bradbane at 10:59 PM on April 2, 2020