Can I file for unemployment? Public Charge?

[jordanmic 4]

Hi,

 

I got my conditional green card in September 2019 through marriage. I did DoorDash (food delivery) for the last 4 weeks and currently don't feel safe going out to work due to the virus spreading. Can I file for unemployment? I never filed for taxes because this is my first time working here in the US. Also will filing for unemployment make it hard for me to remove the conditions off my green card and eventually apply for citizenship?

 

Thank you so much!

[Boiler 43,397]

Sounds like you were not an employee? UI is for employees who have been laid off..

[SalishSea 16,746]

58 minutes ago, jordanmic said:

Hi,

 

I got my conditional green card in September 2019 through marriage. I did DoorDash (food delivery) for the last 4 weeks and currently don't feel safe going out to work due to the virus spreading. Can I file for unemployment? I never filed for taxes because this is my first time working here in the US. Also will filing for unemployment make it hard for me to remove the conditions off my green card and eventually apply for citizenship?

 

Thank you so much!

Unemployment is not welfare, or a handout.  It is a type of insurance that employees and employers pay into.  Receiving unemployment benefits is based on a list of eligibility criteria.  Some states are modifying the criteria for gig workers in the context of covid19.  Best idea is to check with your state's employment security/labor department.

[payxibka 10,044]

1 hour ago, jordanmic said:

Hi,

 

I got my conditional green card in September 2019 through marriage. I did DoorDash (food delivery) for the last 4 weeks and currently don't feel safe going out to work due to the virus spreading. Can I file for unemployment? I never filed for taxes because this is my first time working here in the US. Also will filing for unemployment make it hard for me to remove the conditions off my green card and eventually apply for citizenship?

 

Thank you so much!

Voluntarily stopping work is typically grounds for ineligiblility.   However,  as has been mentioned, you states website will be the gospel truth for you 

[arken 4,197]

As said, doordashers are considered independent contractors (kinda like self employed) and not the employees of Doordash, so no unemployment benefits.

[Hawk Riders 814]

 

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
("CARES Act")

 

Unemployment compensation

Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC)

• From today through to July 31, 2020, all regular UI and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (see below) claimants will receive their calculated benefit plus an additional $600 per week in compensation
   

• This is a flat amount to everyone currently on UI, and includes anyone receiving a partial UI payment
   

• This will be paid on a weekly basis
   

• PUC income will NOT impact Medicaid or CHIP eligibility
   

• PUC will be paid an additional 13 weeks after state UI benefits expire
   

• Although workers must be “actively engaged” in searching for work. The Act says “a State shall provide flexibility in meeting such requirements in case of individuals unable to search for work because of COVID-19, including because of illness, quarantine, or movement restriction.”
   

• The tradition waiting week is waived

.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)

• Provides emergency unemployment assistance to workers who are left out of regular state UI or who have exhausted their state UI benefits. Workers who are eligible for state UI are excluded from this program
   

• Those eligible for PUA include self-employed workers, including independent contractors, freelancers, people seeking part-time work, and those who do not have a long-enough work history to qualify for state UI benefits
   

• NOTE in most states, “gig” workers should qualify for regular UI because of the broad definitions of employment in so many state UI laws and should apply for regular UI
   

• Applicants will need to provide self-certification that they are (1) partially or fully unemployed, OR (2) unable and unavailable to work because of one of the following circumstances:

• • They have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have symptoms of it and are seeking diagnosis

  • A member of their household has been diagnosed with COVID-19

  • They are providing care for someone diagnosed with COVID-19

  • They are providing care for a child or other household member who can’t attend school or work because it is closed due to COVID-19

  • They are quarantined or have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine

  • They were scheduled to start employment and do not have a job or cannot reach their place of employment as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak

• • They have become the breadwinner for a household because the head of household has died as a direct result of COVID-19

  • They had to quit their job as a direct result of COVID-19

  • Their place of employment is closed as a direct result of COVID-19

 

Not eligible

• Workers are not eligible for PUA if they can either telework with pay or are receiving paid sick days or paid leave
   

• Undocumented workers will not qualify

[Sammyjayt 26]

20 hours ago, jordanmic said:

Hi,

 

I got my conditional green card in September 2019 through marriage. I did DoorDash (food delivery) for the last 4 weeks and currently don't feel safe going out to work due to the virus spreading. Can I file for unemployment? I never filed for taxes because this is my first time working here in the US. Also will filing for unemployment make it hard for me to remove the conditions off my green card and eventually apply for citizenship?

 

Thank you so much!

Door dash is giving out two weeks of pay to their dashers if your not able to go out and dash . Get on their app or web and you will see it 

[Boiler 43,397]

https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/COVID-19-Financial-Assistance-Program?language=en_US

 

How do I qualify?

You may qualify for up to two weeks of financial assistance* IF you have been active on the DoorDash platform for at least 60 days AND have completed at least 30 deliveries in the last 30 days (counting back from the date medical documentation was acquired) AND you fulfill at least one of the following health-related requirements:
 

• You tested positive for Covid-19 (with medical documentation) OR

• You are under a mandatory Covid-19-related quarantine (with medical documentation) OR

• You are under a doctor-recommended Covid-19-related quarantine (with medical documentation) OR 

• You are a (proven) housemate of someone who fulfills at least one of the above three criteria.

[Loren Y 2,731]

20 hours ago, jordanmic said:

Hi,

 

I got my conditional green card in September 2019 through marriage. I did DoorDash (food delivery) for the last 4 weeks and currently don't feel safe going out to work due to the virus spreading. Can I file for unemployment? I never filed for taxes because this is my first time working here in the US. Also will filing for unemployment make it hard for me to remove the conditions off my green card and eventually apply for citizenship?

 

Thank you so much!

Part of the new stimulus passed was the ability for IC ( Independent Contractors/ 1099 Employee) to collect Unemployment. It's still in the air how to claim, bill was passed less than 24 hours ago, so it is a complete tragedy as you can imagine, thousands of pages everyone signed and agreed upon and no one read a single word, so give it about a week, and I think you will be able to sign up somehow. I've been bored the last few days, so I have been out running Uber eats to pass the time before I go to the full time job, you stay pretty busy, and it is easy money. I don't bother with the passenger side of it, that is currently just about non existent, but for a side gig it's ok. I take my wife with me as she hasn't been working due to the shutdown, and it gives us some time together other than stuck in the house. I also am waiting to see how a 1099 employee can collect if possible, because my wife is a IC/1099 employee that has been out of work since the 16th of March.