My question involves independent contractors in the state of: California
Will EDD find out if I am earning 1099 as an independent contractor and collect unemployment benefits at the same time when I dont report it?
If so, how do they find out?
My question involves independent contractors in the state of: California
Will EDD find out if I am earning 1099 as an independent contractor and collect unemployment benefits at the same time when I dont report it?
If so, how do they find out?
They may find out. You are committing fraud. You need to report your 1099 wages. If they are less than your weekly UI benefit, you should get the difference. If they are more, you won't be eligible for benefits for that particular week.
Seeing as EDD is both the agency that handles both unemployment and 1099 reporting there is a pretty good chance they crosscheck.
Very likely that they will notice this. CA is a very aggressive state in reconciling income and state benefits. For exactly the reason this case demonstrates.
They WILL catch you. If nothing else, they'll get it when you file your taxes for the year. But between now and then, there are other ways they can very well catch it too. DO NOT draw and work as a contractor. Stop your claim while you are working. Then re-start your claim when you are not working. It is spectacularly easy to catch people, they are spectacularly dumb about how these things cross reference and how the system will get you in the end. If you are reported by a jealous friend, or an ex or if there is the slightest indication that there is something questionable about your claim, you can get audited, and if they audit you they will catch you. Don't be a dumb ass. The penalties and the whole ball of complications that you can get into are NOT worth it. Stop your claim during any week you worked for wages. Re-start your claim when you are not working for a week. Do it right, save yourself a long term problem. You're not smart enough to outwit a system which assumes most people will be lying to them, has contact with every employer who does business in the state, and has access to all your state and federal wages and reports and tax documents. In times of high unemployment, they are not quite so diligent. Right now, we are not in a time of high unemployment. There aren't a lot of people drawing benefits. This means they audit the fire out of everyone who is. Don't do it.
The OP doesn't have to close the claim. They simply have to report the earnings each week.
That is correct. But if they report anything over their weekly benefit amount in gross wages, it will stop the claim automatically and the claim will have to be reopened before they can file again. That isn't very hard to do, you just get on the system and tell them you want to re-open.
Of course if they make less than their WBA in gross wages, and report it (Sunday through Saturday, regardless of how it is actually paid) it will be partialed out, the U.I. office will do the calculations, and they can receive part of a U.I. benefit, work, and keep the claim open. But almost any 40 hour job gross wages will be more than a weekly benefit amount. If they simply do not certify for a week, it will also automatically stop the claim and they'll also need to reopen it before certifying again.
But if they are not working for a covered employer, they do not have to recertify for eligibility for benefits, they just re-open the claim. They should not file for any week where they work as a 1099 for anyone without reporting the actual gross wages they made (Sunday through Saturday) but then when they are not working, they can definitely re-open and start back getting benefits at that time.
This isn't exactly true. I think the guy wants to work Uber. EDD is going with the theory that if you sign up for Uber that is now your career. If you want partial UI, then you're going to have to prove that you were logged into that app 8 hours per day 5 days per week. None of this "surge" pricing, and then you claim UI for the other 7 hours of the day you didn't feel like being logged into the app. Or if the car breaks down, then too bad. It's a quit.
This might work in Indio where the demand is probably low, but not in LA.
My advice, just look for a REAL job, and save this crap (I'm sure it's crap) 1099 work for when the UI runs out.
Also if it's not Uber, if you take a 1099 job and get fired or quit just like any other claimant, you have to go through a new adjudication. You can't sell Avon, and then decide to quit because you're not making any money. CA is less picky about "joining the ranks of the self employed," but that's usually for people in IT that get a job on a project. This "I took a 100% commission job and now it's not working out" still causes people grief.