NJ Opens Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Applications

TRENTON, NJ — Self-employed workers, freelancers and gig workers who have found themselves unemployed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in New Jersey can at last apply for unemployment, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday.

The application for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance finally opened on the state Department of Labor website on Wednesday, Murphy said during his daily coronavirus news conference.

Information on how to apply is posted on the labor department's website and includes guides explaining the process.

The opening of the application, however, may be only half the battle because New Jersey's unemployment system has been beset by problems and has a significant backlog of claims. Thousands of New Jersey residents have been begging Murphy, the Labor Department and anyone who will listen for help inspeeding up the claims process.

Many have been without paychecks for six weeks or more.

"We need money," said Michelle Izzi of Hillsborough, who is self-employed as a horse trainer and who teaches equestrian lessons and coaches high school and middle school equestrian teams. She has been waiting for the state to straighten out the claims process for the self-employed since March.

"We can't feed ourselves," she said, sharing the frustrations of more than 1,700 people in a private Facebook group who are angry with the lack of help in getting their claims processed.

Izzi said the issue for her is more acute, because it's not just about feeding herself and her children; she has horses that must be fed as well. On Wednesday, she sent Murphy a letter, saying she has been pushed to the brink by the delays in getting the unemployment assistance for the self-employed.

"I have no choice but to reopen my business," her letter said in part. "I have no choice but to fend for myself."

Murphy was asked about backlog of claims, but had very little information to provide.

"I know that the Department of Labor has chopped through an enormous amount of the backlog," he said, but said he would get specifics on it for Thursday's briefing. "I have enormous sympathy for the folks who are out there who still haven't gotten theirs and their accounts are dwindling."

The labor department website also includes information for people who were receiving unemployment right before the coronavirus shutdowns and may be eligible for the 13-week federal extension of benefits that was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

For those waiting to see the $600 supplemental unemployment benefit, those payments should have started to show up for those who have been collecting unemployment. It is retroactive to March 29 and will continue through July 25 unless you return to work.

The state released additional information on the PUA benefits later Wednesday afternoon. Not only is it available to people who are self-employed or independent contractors, it is intended to assist those who do not have enough recent earnings to receive regular unemployment benefits.

Workers in this group, who have applied for regular unemployment and been denied, do not have to do anything further. Labor department officials said the department was to start reaching out to filers on Wednesday and anticipated it would start processing payments this week. The first payments are anticipated to go out Tuesday.

"The department has worked hard over the past month to get this program up and running despite the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19," Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said. "While it will take time to determine eligibility for everyone who seeks PUA benefits, the process has begun to get billions of additional dollars into the wallets of eligible self-employed workers."

Claimants must certify for these benefits online each week. The certification schedule — based on Social Security number — can be found at myunemployment.nj.gov.

PUA claims are processed separately from regular unemployment claims, so anyone who filed for those funds has to certify the PUA claim weekly in addition to certifying for regular unemployment.

Claimants will receive payments retroactive to when they filed their unemployment claim.

The initial group of PUA-eligible claimants will be notified today of their time slot to certify for benefits on Friday. They will receive payment on Tuesday, May 5.

Workers who certify for benefits on Friday will also receive a separate $600 supplemental payment as part of the CARES Act for each week they were eligible for PUA since March 29. Those who certify after Friday will receive the CARES Act supplement the following week.

Claimants instructed to certify for PUA Friday, Saturday or Sunday will receive payment on Tuesday. Those who certify on Monday or later will receive payment two business days after they certify.

Workers who are eligible for PUA, but for whom available wage records are incomplete, will be issued weekly PUA payments for the minimum amount of $231, plus the separate $600 weekly supplemental benefit, once they certify for benefits according to the schedule. These workers will be contacted separately to update their income information, and any necessary adjustment to their weekly benefit rate will be made based on the updated income information they provide.

Here is what New Jersey’s self-employed workers, independent contractors and others who may be eligible for PUA need to know:

• The first step to receiving PUA is to apply for state unemployment benefits here -- myunemployment.nj.gov -- and be denied.
• If you have already applied for state unemployment, you do not need to do anything else right now.
• If you have not applied for state unemployment benefits yet, instructions for self-employed, independent contractors and others not eligible for regular unemployment can be found here:

https://myunemployment.nj.gov/labor/myunemployment/independentcontractors.shtml

• If you already applied, but did not follow the instructions outlined above, don’t worry. Your application will still be reviewed for PUA eligibility.
• If you have not heard from us, there is no reason to call or email.
• Look for more information in your mail or email inbox.
• PUA claims will be backdated to the date you first became eligible, so you won’t lose any benefits. The first week of potential eligibility is the week ending February 8, 2020.
• You may be required to produce income records for 2018 and 2019.
• More information can be found here: https://myunemployment.nj.gov/labor/myunemployment/assets/pdfs/CARES_FFRCA.pdf

More than 858,000 unemployment claims had been filed in New Jersey as of last week. The state said more than $1 billion in unemployment benefits have been paid out to more than 550,000 people.