New, partial guidance from the federal government will allow Massachusetts to open its unemployment system up to independent contractors, gig workers and self-employed Bay Staters as early as April 30.
Self-employed, gig economy and other workers like real estate agents do not pay into the unemployment insurance system and so traditionally do not qualify to receive it, but the $2.2 trillion CARES Act President Donald Trump signed last month makes up to 39 weeks of benefits available to them as relief from the COVID-19 crisis. In the wake of the law’s passage, however, state officials said these workers would not yet be able to file unemployment claims as the state’s system would not be able to process them.
Gov. Charlie Baker’s office said in a press release Thursday that it is working with an outside vendor to prepare for those claims and expects to begin processing them around April 30. The administration also said currently eligible claimants can now receive the additional $600 per week authorized in the federal act.
Anyone eligible for unemployment will be retroactively compensated back to Feb. 2 or the first week a claimant was unable to work as a result of COVID-19, whichever date is later. Benefits will be able to be paid up to Dec. 26.
“We know this is frustrating for many, many people here in Massachusetts, people who have lost their job through no fault of their own and are trying hard to access funds that they need to get by,” Baker said. “In the new federal CARES Act, those benefits haven’t been able to be made available as quickly as any of us would like, but you have our commitment that we’re going to continue to do all we can to get the resources out the door to help workers impacted by this unprecedented situation.”
An Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development spokesman could not be reached Thursday for comment on whether the eligibility expansion would lead to a further surge in applications or to describe how the system has handled the increased work.
Last week, the office said it has managed increased needs so far thanks to more than 500 additional employees added to the department.
Updated 11:08 a.m. April 10, 2020: This story was updated to include a quote from Gov. Charlie Baker.
