On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its latest guidance to state unemployment agencies regarding the application of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) to impacted individuals in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 16-20. PUA applies to self-employed persons, gig economy workers, and independent contractors. PUA is also applicable to those impacted individuals who did not qualify for state unemployment assistance due to an inability to meet state qualifying criteria.
