I have been full time freelance

18 Comments

1. AnonymousNovember 23,2024 at 1:37PM UTC

   You said, "... does this hurt my chances in the future with this employer?" Can you please explain what "this" refers to? Also, which employer are you talking about?

2. AnonymousNovember 23,2024 at 4:14PM UTC

   "This" means are they less likely to offer me future freelance gigs if I file unemployment listing them as my last employer? I will not name the specific employer. It's a global company.

3. AnonymousNovember 24,2024 at 1:22PM UTC

   If you are W2, you are usually not considered a 1099 employee or contractor. Four months is a temporary employee (AKA seasonal), so you need to check with your state's Department of Labor/Labor Board to see what the unemployment rules are for your state. Each state sets its own rules, so what is true in one area may not be accurate in a different state. Most states consider how long you worked, not just how much you earned. The amount goes toward your UI benefit, and the time determines eligibility. Since the company pays the state for UI Insurance, even though the state pays the benefit, every claim will affect the rate for their UI Insurance. It's hard to say if filing for UI will affect your employer's desire to bring you back, but it could be a tie-breaking factor.

4. AnonymousNovember 23,2024 at 5:37PM UTC

   ? Have you reached into their Talent team or HR to see if they might need you to continue? Additionally, as a contractor or 1099 how are you able to get unemployment. Are you through a 3rd party agency? If so reach out to them to see if they have work for you or if this company has more work in the future to consider you for. Lastly, before you go why not give them a questionnaire to complete about how well you did in the work for them. Find out if they need more work down the path and ask for internal references to put their experience working with you on linkedin for all to see. Nothing else to say here as there really is not a problem other than you finding the next gig or FTE post January.

5. AnonymousNovember 23,2024 at 11:03PM UTC

   I am a full time W2 contractor.

6. AnonymousNovember 24,2024 at 1:29PM UTC

   That's not true. The company is notified each time a claim is filed to verify employment details and the reason for termination. I went through this where I worked when the company appealed a UI decision, as they felt it was for cause. My manager, HR, the company's attorney, and the rest of the staff knew I had applied. This is why I directed the OP to run this question by the state UI/Labor Department. My company tried to appeal a layoff and lost the appeal (I didn't even have an attorney). They appealed because this would affect the UI insurance premiums they paid to the state. They were hoping I wouldn't challenge them.

7. maria roseNovember 24,2024 at 3:17PM UTC

   If the company has an issue with unemployment claims and repeatedly appeals and tries to deny the claim, they are not paying as required by labor law for their unemployment insurance. They can deny benefits but you also have the right to appeal and their constant denials will cause the unemployment office to put them on notice and record as a hostile employer who’s not paying their unemployment insurance and will force them to prove in detail the exact reason for the denial. I advise that you get a detailed in writing the reason for your being let go ( temporary employment, etc) and a statement from them that states you are not classified as a permanent employee but a contractor employee—the difference is that you only get paid for work while actively working on the assignment and receive “benefits “ only while actively working. You are not allowed n a leave of absence at the end of your contract employment period ( a little ploy used to make it seem that you decided to stop working). This company is trying to label you as a permanent employee who takes multiple leaves of absence when you are an at will hired contractor who gets payroll checks and accumulates perk benefits from the repeated rehire contract. Check with your specific state employment office for the specifics on filing and receiving unemployment benefits. You achieve benefits through your employment payroll taxes and the amount received is based on your employment income earned over a certain time period. Plus there’s rules for how one does this filing process especially when you work in temporary short term employment and use the benefits in between employment contracts. Basically if you work and receive a pay check that files a report of your earnings to both the federal and state government which means a report of all taxes paid/taken out of your paycheck, then you are entitled to get unemployment based upon n your reported earnings. Not knowing exactly what state the OP is working and living in, I can’t offer any more specifics but that’s the basic premise..

   Now if the way the person is paid is not fully paid as an on-the books paycheck—all income and payroll taxes reported—then it is a different story—especially if the income paid is classified as a different kind of payment ( not liable as taxable income), usually used when someone gets paid by a salary versus an hourly rate). Know exactly what your states tax laws are on classifying income.

8. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 2:37AM UTC

   The company doesn't pay the unemployment claim; the State DOL does through unemployment insurance that employers of a specific size (there are other exemptions as well) must pay. The number of claims affects their premium rates. If an employee quits or is fired for cause, the company doesn't want that to impact their UI premium rates. These are the usual reasons why a company will appeal a claim. In my case, they were hoping I wouldn't challenge the appeal.

9. maria roseNovember 26,2024 at 4:13PM UTC

   You have every right to challenge the denial, their claims of it effecting the premiums charged is a nonsense statement argument to try to avoid the charge ( a basic penny pinching maneuver) that is a cost of operating a business. It sure sounds like they don’t like to employ people except by contract to avoid paying for other requirements by labor laws.

10. AnonymousNovember 27,2024 at 2:55PM UTC

    You are correct. They employed several employees through a temp agency to avoid hiring PRN staff that was on-call for callouts for this reason. They also had a fairly high turnover rate, which was why their UI insurance premiums were so high. Since I was their highest paid employee that wasn't considered "essential" because they had people who could back-fill (just didn't want to) they tried to "lay me off" and call it "for cause" when they had no paperwork to justify the cause, and the paperwork they had had nothing to do with the reason for termination on the separation paperwork. I didn't even need a lawyer to win that one. The appeals judge ripped my manager and the company's attorney a new one.

11. AnonymousNovember 24,2024 at 4:38PM UTC

    OP here. The organization simply doesn't have more work for me as they've been having a downturn in client work. They are a large global organization and I highly doubt they'll be concerned about their UI premiums in 1 state.

12. AnonymousNovember 24,2024 at 4:05PM UTC

    Thank you for the information. I have already contacted my unemployment office and I am eligible for unemployment. This is not my question. My question is whether or not I should file.

13. AnonymousNovember 24,2024 at 5:11PM UTC

    Of course you should file, unemployment benefits are for those who have no income and unless you have piles of cash lying around this can tide you over until you find the next role. I suspect you might be a W2 contractor for a 3rd party? If not you might fall into this category of folks who were misclassified as contractors. To be a true contractor you are self employed, not directed by internal staff, set your own hours, and pay your own taxes. If they took out taxes from your checks and all the associated fees that they do an employee then you are an employee plain and simple and you have been laid off. It cannot go both ways. You might have a claim that they misfiled you as a contractor which may be of help during tax season if you need write-offs.

14. AnonymousNovember 24,2024 at 4:08PM UTC

    Thank you for actually answering my question/concern!

15. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 4:19PM UTC

    I am classified as a full time W2 contractor and you didn't answer my question.

16. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 4:20PM UTC

    Thank you so much for actually answering my question! Much appreciated!!

17. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 4:23PM UTC

    Because my question isn't about my right to do so. I know it is. My question is about whether or not my boss would find out and could that impact them asking me back for another assignment.

18. AnonymousNovember 27,2024 at 4:30PM UTC

    Thank you!