The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Get a PUA Grant When You’re Self-Employed
Supposedly, the Public Unemployment Assistance (PUA) grant is supposed to handle claims by those who are self-employed and have lost income due to COVID-19. But as I have discovered, this can be a very difficult undertaking for some types of self-employed people, most notably freelance writers, artists, musicians, and professionals with private practices, such as coaches and consultants. I discovered this from my own experience which has been an absolute nightmare, and it’s a situation experienced by many thousands if not millions of people. There are nearly 50,000 members of a Facebook group devoted to questions about these claims — the Unofficial California Employment Help group that has over 49,000 members.
In my own case, on May 9th I applied for funds because I work primarily as a ghostwriter, as well as write my own books — over 200 of them on self-help, popular business, social issues, and crime. I’m also a writer and executive producer of feature films, documentaries, and TV series. But suddenly, due to the pandemic, almost all of my clients have put a hold on projects because of financial concerns, while the film industry has come to a halt for film production and a reluctance to commit to new projects.
Unfortunately, getting these funds has proved to be a big quagmire for me — and for many others in a similar situation. Supposedly, you apply and if you’re application is approved, you get an account number online which indicates how much you should receive each week — typically about $167 with a total benefits amount for the year at about $6500. Then, you certify your continued eligibility for unemployment due to the pandemic disaster. You are then supposed to receive a debit card from the EDD to access your unemployment funds. And that’s fine for some people.
But others end up in a bureaucratic jungle, which made me feel like a mouse in a maze seeking cheese, who keeps running into dead ends or doors that suddenly slam shut. I even ended up writing a song about it, which I’ll post at the end of this article.
A big problem is that I kept getting contradictory information, so I didn’t know why I was disqualified and what to do about it. The confusion began when I first got two letters a day apart. One said you got an award and I could go online to access my account. But the other letter said sorry, you don’t qualify. So which is it?
Then, after I went to my account, I didn’t get the usual online link to certify every two weeks that I had sought work but didn’t get any. So after a month, starting on June 9th, I wrote 4 letters to EDD about this. Supposedly these letters are supposed to be answered in 5–7 days. But nothing. So I began calling the EDD, only to encounter what most callers experience — a number that is invariably busy or has a recorded message saying that the EDD reps are overwhelmed with too many calls and to call back later. And later you get the same message again and again.
But finally, I discovered a kind of secret passage to get through shared by individuals who found a way in — a number to call and instructions on an extension number to press as soon as I heard a welcome message. Even so, it took dozens of calls, but after about the 15th try I made it, though then began a long waiting game, since you have to wait about 15–25 minutes on the line before a rep finally gets to your call, because there are so many applicants trying to speak to someone about their claim.
Yet while the rep I spoke to fixed my account, so I could finally certify after 12 weeks that I had been looking for work but didn’t get any, I discovered still another glitch. The following day, all of my claims were listed as “disqualified”, with no explanation, so I didn’t know why. Thus, I started the appeals process, though even this had glitches, since one rep told me to fax my application to the number of one EDD office in Oakland. But when I called to see if my fax was received, the rep said, no, this is the wrong address to use, you have to send your appeal to the Appeals Board in Chula Vista for your area; then they refer it back to the Oakland office for a judge to hear the appeal. So that’s what I did, explaining in my appeal that I didn’t know I was disqualified. But then I got a notice next to each of my disqualified claims that unemployment insurance was taxable and I could opt to have this taken out of any funds I received. “That’s what I did,” a friend in the shut-down film industry told me. So I thought not opting to withhold the taxes is why I didn’t qualify, so I sent in a second appeal saying that I could correct this.
Then, to make a long convoluted story short, it turns out the problem wasn’t my answer to the tax question at all, because after I called still another rep to fix my certification for the next two weeks, the rep said I was disqualified because my lack of work wasn’t due to the pandemic, since I didn’t have a job. So it didn’t matter how I certified.
And that misunderstanding about a “job” is apparently the catch-22 for many self-employed writers, artists, musicians, and professionals, since we aren’t employees, but have customers and clients. But my clients weren’t able to hire me due to the pandemic because of their loss of funds, as I explained to the rep. And that’s exactly why the PUA was set up, to help “unemployed Californians who are not usually eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. This includes business owners, self-employed workers, independent contractors, and those with a limited work history who are out of business or have significantly reduced their services as a direct result of the pandemic,” to cite the language of the EDD”.
Unfortunately, after hearing my explanation, the rep couldn’t do anything herself but said she would refer my explanation to a higher up and to the appeals board, and someone would call me within a week. But now, it’s the end of the week and I’m still waiting. Plus I wrote still another letter to the appeals board explaining why I do qualify, since I am self-employed and my clients have had to postpone, drop, or not start projects due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, I discovered that many other writers, artists, musicians, and professionals I spoke to were similarly disqualified. While many simply gave up, others spent hours filing appeals to finally get funds.
In short, there are all kinds of hoops to jump through and hurdles to overcome in order to deal with a bureaucracy where reps are overwhelmed and often give out conflicting information about what to do. And many in the system don’t seem to understand that self-employed individuals have lost work and income due to the pandemic and should therefore be qualified under the federal CARES act that established the PUA. As the EDD website explains: “This program includes up to 46 weeks of benefits from February 2, 2020, through December 26, 2020, depending on when you were directly affected by COVID-19. PUA launched with up to 39 weeks of benefits and an extra seven weeks was recently added.” But there are all kinds of obstacles, including misunderstandings by EDD employees, about how the program is supposed to work.
Thus, it’s no wonder that there are many thousands of people beside myself who are frustrated in trying to deal with the process of getting a claim approved. And this makes it harder for others and myself to stay in business and meet our financial obligations, given that more and more people are becoming financially strapped and unable to pay for the work many of us still can do.
Perhaps the one upside in all of this mess is that without much work, I have found this a very productive time for writing and publishing books and writing new film scripts. Plus I started a new career a songwriter and found musicians to do the music and a publisher who handles licensing. Additionally, I started a video creation service — MyPromeo.com — which has about 40 examples and is now for sale with a business broker.
And now here’s the song inspired by all this: Mouse in a Maze.
MOUSE IN A MAZE
CHORUS I feel like a mouse in a maze.
Trying to run through the pandemic craze.
As hard as I try, I can’t get through.
I keep reaching dead ends whatever I do.
VERSE At first I thought I’d get an award,
Just file for PUA benefits and get your reward.
But like thousands more, I quickly found
I was caught in an EDD runaround.
That’s why…
REPEAT CHORUS
VERSE One problem is changing rules,
And you can’t get through if you call,
Or you get different advice if you do,
And some advice isn’t helpful at all.
That’s why…
REPEAT CHORUS
VERSE And then if you file an appeal,
It can take weeks or months for a reply
Or the reps claim you didn’t have a job,
So you’re not out of work and don’t qualify.
BRIDGE Now what in the world should you do,
If the work and money is down for you?
Right now no one seems to know.
So it’s hard to know where to go.
That’s why…
CHORUS We all feel like a mouse in a maze.
Trying to run through the pandemic craze.
But as hard as we try, we can’t get through.
We keep reaching dead ends whatever we do.
GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar leader, specializing in business and work relationships, professional and personal development, social trends, and popular culture. She has published 50 books with major publishers. She has worked with dozens of clients on memoirs, self-help, popular business books, and film scripts. Writing samples are at www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com.
She is the founder of Changemakers Publishing, featuring books on work, business, psychology, social trends, and self-help. The company has published over 200 print, e-books, and audiobooks. She has received national media exposure for her books, including appearances on Good Morning America, Oprah, and CNN.
Scott is active in a number of community and business groups, including the Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek Chambers of Commerce. She does workshops and seminars on the topics of her books.
She is also the writer and executive producer of 10 films in distribution, release, or production. Her most recent films that have been released include Driver, The New Age of Aging, and Infidelity.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School. She has received five MAs at Cal State University, East Bay, most recently in Communication.