The COVID-19 relief bill of $900 billion was announced by Congress this week. The bill includes a federal enhancement of an additional $300 each week for millions of US citizens who require unemployment benefits.
According to this new package, jobless Americans will also be receiving an extra $100 that will boost their present unemployed condition.
Aspects Of Unemployment Benefits
This supplement is added to the text of this stimulus package bill. The purpose is to support the workers with both wage income like a job of W-2 along with self-employed earnings. Such people will be getting an unemployment benefit that is artificially low. This is due to the reason that their payment will be based only on the wages included in their yearly W-2 forms of tax instead of comprising self-employment income that might be more.
Citing the example of an entertainer, we can assume they earn most of the income in acting jobs as an independent worker. Along with that, they can also have a W-2 diner job that brings extra income. So if they lose their diner job and qualify for the traditional unemployment benefit, they will not be eligible to get the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) which is available to gig workers and freelancers.
This indicates that their weekly jobless check will become lesser due to the income made through the diner job that is less important than freelancing. The PUA payments are half of the average unemployment benefit provided by the state for 39 weeks.
The gap in between is intended to be fulfilled by the additional $100 each week provided with the $300 every week as unemployment benefit.
Workers who have earned a minimum of $5,000 through self-employment means in 2019 are eligible to receive the extra $100 each week from 27th December 2020 till 14th March 2021.
