The U.S. Labor Department issued new guidance on the complex unemployment insurance program for independent contractors, marking the agency’s latest effort to increase oversight of how states are making eligibility determinations to this crucial form of virus relief.
The guidance DOL’s Employment and Training Administration published late Tuesday updated its instructions to state workforce agencies by addressing a series of questions states have asked about Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Congress created the program in March to extend benefits to gig-economy workers, freelancers, and others who wouldn’t traditionally qualify for unemployment insurance.
The guidance advises states on matters such as how to ...