The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act expands eligibility for unemployment insurance to many individuals who previously could not get those benefits, including the self-employed, independent contractors and “gig” workers.
Because the law is so new, states only just received guidance on how to implement the federal law and are still developing the exact process. Nevertheless, the New Jersey Department of Labor is directing individuals in those categories to apply now.
Those applications will likely be denied. But that is also part of the process, officials said.
“If you are denied, you can always file an appeal, which takes time,” according to a publication of the New Jersey Department of Labor. “If denied, you are also likely eligible for benefits under Pandemic Unemployment Assistance since ineligibility for regular unemployment is a prerequisite for receiving these expanded benefits due to COVID-19. In this case you will need to gather the last two years of your tax returns or other evidence of income history, which will be necessary for processing your claim once the federal rules are established.”
In a webinar with the New Jersey Business and Industry Association on Monday, New Jersey Department of Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo discussed the intense volume of claims already coming into the agency. He explained that the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is modeled after disaster unemployment assistance, a program New Jersey is familiar with particularly due to Hurricane Sandy. However, Asaro-Angelo noted, that assistance was a manual process.
“When someone is a W2 earner, we have all their records,” he explained. But independent contractors and self-employed individuals would not already have records in the state’s system. So, the agency is trying to come up with a more efficient system for these claimants, Asaro-Angelo said.
Asaro-Angelo noted some federal parameters and guidance for the PUA program came out late Sunday, and are being reviewed by the state Department of Labor.
For more information, see this Frequently Asked Questions publication from the New Jersey Department of Labor.