State Aiming To Help Colorado's Self-Employed During Coronavirus Pandemic
(CBS4) - Colorado residents who are self-employed became eligible for unemployment on Monday because of the COVID-19 pandemic but two days later some are still struggling to sign up for those benefits. State officials say there are certain circumstances where federal law overrules their options to give them assistance.
"It just says you don't qualify for pandemic relief, which I don't understand," said Juan Sanchez. "I've been calling in ever since, constantly redialing and I either get the line is busy or when they do answer, it says that they are experiencing a high number of calls and to try back later."
Sanchez is a real estate agent trying to get money as a self-employed worker, who says business has virtually stopped since the coronavirus outbreak. He and his husband live in Lakewood. They both lost their incomes because of the pandemic, his spouse also tested positive for COVID-19. Both men self isolated while he recovered. His husband has collected some benefits as an employee in the restaurant industry, Sanchez has yet to get through to someone to process his application both on the phone and online.
"I've been trying to get through on the phone to the unemployment office as I did yesterday but again I just get a busy signal as soon as I call," Bill Stahl said. I would like to be able to collect the 600 dollars so I am able to make my bills here over the next however long this lasts."
Stahl is a high school cross country and track coach living in Wheat Ridge who most recently had a youth sports business. But he hasn't been working since coronavirus stopped all athletic activities. He has run into the same problem as Sanchez. The state system says they both need to apply for traditional unemployment because they had jobs in the past year where they worked for an employer. But they feel their situation should make them eligible for the special fund created for pandemic relief.
"I went through the regular unemployment, it just says all benefits are exhausted, and it doesn't send you anywhere else," Sanchez said Wednesday in a video conference call.
"I have been very creative in managing our finances."
The Colorado Department of Labor announced this week it created a second call enter to help address the volume of applicants. More than 30,000 applications for self-employed residents entered the system since Monday, a spokesperson told CBS4. Federal law requires if you have both a W-2 and 1099 income form, you must apply for regular unemployment insurance, according to the DOL. But the department says applicants will still get the extra $600 a week in addition to the traditional benefit when they finish the regular funding from the state.
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"I earn a small amount as a coach, anyone who coaches will tell you we don't do it for the money," Stahl told CBS4 on a video conference call. "We don't make a whole lot of money doing this."
Stahl said the current process is missing certain groups who struggle to get support form either the state or federal level. He said some teenagers and young adults are also missing out on money from the government just like him because they're too old to be claimed as a dependent by parents but have not started earning as adults.
"I think in a lot of ways the government has forgotten about people who fit into certain buckets," he said Wednesday.
Both men say they will keep applying but acknowledge they do not have much time before they run out of resources and will need help to pay their monthly expenses.
"I've really done everything and I understand the system is overwhelmed right now," Sanchez said to CBS4. "I've done everything the way they said it and I just don't know where to go from here."
LINK: Colorado Unemployment