[tahoekc22]

I apologize if I am in the wrong category, this is the best I could find.

Until last November (2007) I was running a small business AND working part-time (in a regular payroll type job) to make ends meet, etc.

I was laid off in Nov and wonder if I can collect unemployment on the loss of the part-time job even though I am still doing some work in my small business. I definitely need the assistance.

Thanks.

[Clough]

Hi, tahoekc22!

If in the U.S. there is usually a time limit for when you can still collect unemployment benefits.

If this was in November of 2007 when you were laid off, then I don't think that you can apply for unemployment benefits anymore.

Your working other side jobs should have no influence on what you might get for unemployment. But, the time frame does matter.

The best thing to do would be to contact the entity that could tell you whether you're still eligible to receive the benefits.

Thanks!

[tahoekc22]

Thanks for your reply... my mistake... it was November 2008. I was just laid off.

It's literally impossible to get through to the EDD office here in California to ask them anything. I already applied for the benefits, but wonder how my self-employment may lower them, or otherwise. It's very hard to interpret the code on their website.

Thanks.

[Clough]

Thanks for the correction!

I've been self-employed for a long time in a number of different ways. Being self-employed has never been a problem with me getting my unemployment benefits from jobs where I've been laid off where I've also been employed by others at the same time as being self-employed. It might be different though if I lived and worked in California.

Don't really know about the laws concerning that out there. Would hope that they would be similar.

Hopefully, someone will come along who knows about those sort of things that concern unemployment benefits in California.

Might be best if you would visit the EDD office personally.

Thanks!

[tahoekc22]

Hi and thanks again, I appreciate your reply. There are no longer any physical EDD offices in California. And they don't take calls because they are so overwhelmed, especially now with the increases in unemployment. In fact, they sent me a letter informing me of a phone interview for yesterday between 1-3 pm and never called until 5:50, 10 minutes before all employees are literally escorted out of their offices because no one allowed to work past 6pm. Because we were not done speaking he agreed to call this morning at 9am, and never called. I have no way of calling him back, nor email. I guess my only option is to send the letter (re:interview) back via US mail, or just wait, which I have been doing since Nov 9.

I'm pretty sure that I can get the unemployment benefits but it seems that they will reduce them if I 'earn wages on any given week'. At that point, the benefits may be reduced to zero by my calculations.

Did you ever have your benefits reduced when you reported self-employment earnings while simultaneously receiving benefits?

Thanks

[Clough]

Hi again, tahoekc22!

If I recall correctly, my self-employment earnings weren't large enough at the time to affect my unemployment benefits.

So, my answer to you concerning that would be that my benefits weren't reduced because of my self-employment. Might have been different in California, though...

Is there a chance that your small business could do well enough that you wouldn't have to be employed by someone else?

Thanks!