Self-employed, independent contractors, others can now file for backdated unemployment claims

Independent contractors, gig workers, the self-employed, clergy, and others not ordinarily eligible for unemployment compensation can now file backdated claims on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance website, Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak recently announced.

Residents can file claims for eligible weeks and the first payment will arrive within one week or less, Oleksiak said.

Those filing will need to show documentation of wages earned or paid during 2019. Accepted documents include 2019 tax returns, 2019 1099s, paycheck stubs, bank receipts, ledgers, contracts, invoices, and/or billing statements.

Claims can be backdated to Jan. 27, 2020, or the first week of unemployed caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Payments will be made in one lump sum via direct deposit or a debit card through U.S. Bank. After the initial claim, applicants must file for unemployment weekly to be paid.

The maximum weekly benefit is $572, and the minimum is $195.

More than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians have filed for unemployment, and more than 174,000 have registered for pandemic assistant since March 15. The state has paid more than $5.4 billion in benefits.

Approximately $4 billion was paid for regular unemployment compensation, while more than $1.41 billion was from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.