TEXAS – Nearly a month ago, President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion bill to help stimulate the economy that included $600 per week payments for Americans on unemployment. That money is on top unemployment benefits coming from a worker’s state government.
With that money comes an expansion in many states, including Texas, of who qualifies to receive unemployment benefits.
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If you’ve been let go, furloughed, or have had your hours reduced because of coronavirus, you qualify for unemployment benefits. If you had to quit your job because of the coronavirus or if you get sick and don’t have sick days, you qualify.
Under normal circumstances independent contractors, part-time employees, and people who are self-employed wouldn’t qualify for unemployment. But now those workers, also known as “non-traditional applicants,” can apply for benefits.
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The Texas Workforce Commission’s website recommends people apply even if they’re not sure whether or not they qualify for unemployment benefits as a regular worker or a non-traditional applicant.
States across the country have seen record numbers of Americans applying for unemployment benefits— in Texas alone over a million people have applied.