Freelance designer and no work since Sept. 08. Can she apply for unemployment?

by Ron
(Texas Unemployment Benefits)

Freelance designer and no work since Sept. 08. Can she apply for unemployment?

A friend has been a freelance graphic designer for several years. She got freelance work from an agency for 3 years. As of September 2008, the agency has stopped using freelancers because of the economy. She has tried to get work elsewhere but no one is hiring. Question is, can she apply for unemployment?




Answer
Hi Ron,

It's doubtful. Freelancing is self-employment unless a person can prove an employer/employee relationship existed and then there would have to be qualifying wages in the base period of the claimant.

All states have a specific "test" to determine the existence of an employer/employee relationship.

Some may think an employer would never try to skirt the issue of whether a person is actually an employee or not, but I know better...

So it's worth finding out what the test is.

Just because a person contracts their labor out, it does not mean they aren't considered an employee by a state's test .. and the IRS.