Does Freelance Work Decrease Your Maximum Benefits? (collect, extension, receive)

[NormandySR2]

I know that doing freelance work will decrease the amount of benefits you may collect during that particular week, but does it decrease your maximum benefit amount? (Would I eventually be allowed to collect the difference?)

[Chyvan]

It's a big "it depends." It's possible to do so much freelance work that you can't exhaust your claim in the 52 week period allowed to collect all your benefits, and the remainder is forfeited. It's also possible to be labelled as a self-employed person and booted out of the system with no hope of getting back in. It's also possible that you collect all your state benefits, but then have your entitlement to EUC voided as you can be put on a new state claim.

The UI system is geared for claimants to look for jobs as good or better than they had before. It starts to get complicated and punitive when you start having sporadic earnings.

[NormandySR2]

I'm in NJ, where you're allowed to make up to 20% of your weekly benefit and still get a full check. If I were to make my weekly benefit plus 20% from a freelance project, would that unemployment money be lost to me forever, or would I just get that back in another week where I didn't do any freelancing?

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by NormandySR2

I know that doing freelance work will decrease the amount of benefits you may collect during that particular week, but does it decrease your maximum benefit amount? (Would I eventually be allowed to collect the difference?)

Yes, you will be allowed to collect the difference. Working serves to extend the time over which your benefits are paid out. Your original monetary determination is not affected when you work.

Originally Posted by NormandySR2

I'm in NJ, where you're allowed to make up to 20% of your weekly benefit and still get a full check. If I were to make my weekly benefit plus 20% from a freelance project, would that unemployment money be lost to me forever, or would I just get that back in another week where I didn't do any freelancing?

No, that unemployment is not lost. The balance remains to be collected within your benefit year.

Whether or not you will lose EUC depends on how this free-lance work is paid. 1099 work should not affect your ability to collect EUC. W-2 work could. As Chyvan said, if you have a claim which is potentially eligible for federal extension benefits (EUC), be sure you receive all your state benefits and begin the federal EUC benefits before the end of your benefit year. Otherwise, you lose those benefits.

That said, if you work too much, it is possible you will immediately qualify for a new state (usually lower paying) claim when you are eligible to begin EUC and, therefore, never begin EUC at all - which means it is lost. If your first claim is very high paying, those EUC benefits are valuable. So, working could cause you to lose them.