On April 29, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced that recipients of federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) to the self-employed, independent contractors and others who are not usually eligible for unemployment insurance benefits will start being notified of their PUA eligibility today, and the Department will begin making payments Friday.

PUA is a new program authorized by Congress as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide unemployment benefits to workers not eligible for regular unemployment. In addition to people who are self-employed or independent contractors, this includes 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. The Department will start reaching out today, and will start processing payments this week.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.

To read the Department of Labor press release, click here.

If you have any questions or comments about the above, please feel free to reach out to Hilary Beckett, Manager, Government Affairs, at hbeckett@chambersnj.com.