Georgia contractors, self-employed and gig workers who need assistance because of the impact of COVID-19 are now eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
Georgia, like the rest of the country, has seen an unprecedented rise in joblessness in the last month. Nationally, about 10 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the final two weeks of March, a reflection of the virtual shutdown of many sectors of the economy. And last week officials at the Georgia Department of Labor said they had processed 133,820 applications for unemployment insurance – more than 10 times the level of an average week.
To help address this crisis, Congress recently passed a $2.2 trillion relief package — the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) — which included $1,200 checks to most adults, but also added $600 to state unemployment payments. This federal funding also brings relief to many Georgians currently not eligible for state unemployment benefits.
According to Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA, will provide unemployment benefits to individuals who are self-employed, gig workers, 1099 independent contractors, or those with limited work history who will not qualify for state unemployment benefits.
“We are on the forefront of this economic effort to provide relief to a brand-new group of Georgians who have never received unemployment benefits before,” said Butler. “Our team is working to make sure we can offer assistance as soon as possible to those in need while also establishing a system that is in compliance with federal law.”
Because this is a new program, the Georgia DOL is working to modify its current online unemployment application adding new questions to better identify those individuals who may be eligible for PUA. This has caused a slight delay, but the modified application is expected to be available on Monday, April 13 on the GDOL website, according to Kersha Cartwright, spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor. Once the application is received, it will take several weeks to process.
The additional questions in the application will help determine qualified applicants to continue the process for PUA benefits, including a different set of wage verifications and a different process for certification of wage benefits.
According to Cartwright, the GDOL is partnering with other state agencies to assist with wage verification simplifying the process for PUA applicants.
For those who have already filed a claim with the GDOL and will be eligible to potentially receive benefits under this program, they will not be required to refile the claim. However, once identified, they will receive an email with a link to provide additional information for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program.
