PA UC examining my freelance work - confused about employee vs contractor status affecting my benefits

I went through something similar last year. The way PA UC handles side gigs is incredibly confusing. From my experience, if they determine you're an independent contractor for your freelance work, they'll still approve your benefits based on your W2 job, but you'll need to report your freelance earnings each week which will reduce your weekly benefit amount. If they determine you're an employee of both companies, it gets more complicated with combined wage calculations. Based on what you described (project-based work, creative freedom, no supervision), you sound like a legitimate independent contractor. Make sure they understand the SCALE difference between your main job and this side gig. The key is to emphasize that your freelance work is irregular, not guaranteed, and significantly less than your main employment.

They make these questions intentionally confusing to trip ppl up i swear. i had a etsy shop that made like $50 a month and they acted like i was running amazon or something lol. took FOREVER to get my claim approved

Here's what's happening: PA UC is determining whether your freelance work makes you ineligible for benefits under their self-employment rules. The key test factors are: 1. Control and direction - who decides HOW you do the work 2. Whether the work is part of the company's regular business 3. If you're independently established in that business For UC purposes, being classified as an independent contractor is generally BETTER in your situation. If they classify you as an employee of the freelance company, they may combine wages from both employers, potentially complicating your claim or even creating an eligibility issue if you're still technically "employed" by them. Your best approach is to emphasize: - The freelance work is minimal compared to your full-time job - The work is irregular/inconsistent - You report this income on 1099s, not W2s - You don't receive employee benefits from them Be prepared that they might reduce your weekly benefit amount based on any freelance earnings you report.

I'm in the EXACT same situation right now and it's infuriating!!! Lost my teaching job but I tutor a few hours a week. Been waiting 5 WEEKS already because of this stupid "investigation" into my tutoring. Like sorry for trying to make a little extra money on the side?? UC system is broken!!

After weeks of dealing with busy signals and disconnections trying to reach PA UC about my side gig situation, I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual agent in less than 2 hours. They have this system that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me days of frustration! You can see how it works at claimyr.com or check their demo at https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 The agent I spoke with clarified that my freelance photography doesn't disqualify me as long as I report earnings correctly. Might be worth trying to get specific answers about your writing gigs instead of waiting for weeks.

Quick follow-up on my earlier comment - make sure you understand the partial benefit calculation. In PA, you can earn up to 30% of your weekly benefit rate without reduction. Anything over that gets subtracted dollar-for-dollar from your benefit amount. So if your weekly benefit is $600, you can earn up to $180 from freelancing without any reduction. If you earned $250 that week, they'd subtract $70 from your benefit ($250-$180=$70), so you'd get $530 instead of $600.

I think ur overthinking this. Just report ur freelance income each week when you file and they'll adjust ur payment. They might ask for more verification but as long as ur honest about everything it should work out fine. The main thing they care about is that you're available for full-time work and not turning down job offers.

Just to add some clarity: Pennsylvania follows the "ABC Test" for determining employment status. For you to be considered an independent contractor, PA UC needs to establish that: A) You are free from control and direction B) Your service is performed outside the usual course of business of the company C) You are customarily engaged in an independently established trade or profession Based on your description of the writing work (creative freedom, project-based, no formal evaluation), you likely meet criterion A. If the company's main business IS publishing/content creation, you might fail criterion B. For criterion C, they'll look at whether you market your services to others, have your own business identity, etc. Make sure your answers are truthful but framed in a way that accurately represents the independent nature of your relationship with this client. The examiner's questions were trying to fit complex working arrangements into rigid yes/no categories.