Over two weeks after U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged California Labor Secretary Julie Su to roll the benefit out as soon as possible, gig and self-employed workers can now apply for federal unemployment benefits if their work has been affected by COVID-19.
Workers who are self-employed, independent contractors, business owners and otherwise do not normally qualify for state unemployment benefits but have been materially impacted by coronavirus can now apply for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program at the state's Economic Development Department (EDD), it was announced Tuesday.