Covid-19 Are YOU worth the risk?

Yes I did. I received a letter from the California agency on April 9th that I was supposed to mail in before April 12. I mailed it on Saturday (by the way at a main post office the drive thru box has the same collection time as inside, so don’t enter the lobby unless you absolutely must) and I received an email yesterday (April 13) that they have received my report and from now on I can update online. I have never applied for unemployment before and I’m unfamiliar with the process however I started on the EDD website. It looks like weekly reports or bi-weekly reports are required. One obstacle as a self-employed person is finding a category to list your work. I used mortgage banking as the main category and underneath there are options like clerk and so forth. The online application would not proceed until I put in some value and I feel this is the closest to what we do. Also, make sure you print out the page that says you are registered. If you try to go back to edit something (like I did) you can no longer access your registration number and won’t be able to log in to your account. They send you an email after a few days that says you can now access your account which I did without the registration number. In the beginning you feel so nervous you want to check your profile to make sure there are no errors. Don’t use the back arrow once you are registered unless you have your number written down or saved.
Please don’t give up, otherwise you may find yourself tempted to take jobs just to put food on the table.

Best,

Jasmin

1 Like

We cant apply for the unemployment benefits in WA state until on or after April 18th. They will give retroactive pay back to your last week of work. I plan to stay off work until they actually open back up, here in WA. My financial circumstances allow me not to have to put myself at risk. My daughter will not let me socialize if I go back to work. I am going to apply for the unemployment as well. Im no spring chicken, maybe if I was in the 30-40 range I would take the risk. I understand though that some have to work to pay the bills, Im very fortunate that I am not one of them. I work for Travel, and right now I cant travel. LOL Stay Safe!

2 Likes

I could not have said it better. Thank you for being succinct, professional and realistic in your reply.

1 Like

I think that we should not except the low ball for the risk we are taking. Because when the signing is not excepted they rise the price. I am also taking measures to prevent catching Co-19, I have 3 grandchildren that live with me. Surely I dont want to bring it home. I have been excepting only the signing that pay $100 and higher. Lets fight back.

1 Like

In WA state you can now apply for unemployment and they will make it retro- active. They ask for a upload of your Schedule C tax return or 1099’s. Also make sure you have available what you made for each month in 2019. Mine is on a spreadsheet so very easy. You have to fill in 4 months that they ask for. I wound up getting approved for just under 1000 a week, that includes that extra 600 a week. So you get a small portion of what you make as a notary self employed + the extra. I was very pleasantly surprised and they went back all the way to the last day that worked, which was Mar 28. Im not going back until the social distancing has been removed from the governor. Our state gives us the right to not put ourselves in danger. Make sure to read the instruction for the PUA Claim before starting the process. But at least I can stay home and stay safe. Not to mention my garden is looking terrific.

1 Like

I’m in high San Bernardino county desert and I’m not risking my health and my family. Still getting call, text and emails with offerings from from $50 to$100. To me it’s not worth the risk. I guess there Notaries out there that I’m sure they need the money ( and who doesn’t) but I believe if you catch anything the $$ you made will NOT COVER THE COST TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. But if it’s worth to you then God Bless you
Has any seen some of these SS Co. Giving instructions on how handle signings when going to home!! Some I’ve read that say hand the package to signers and watch them thru a window sign the docs , you stand outside, hand you their IDs And enter info in your journal , hand them your journal and thru the window watch sign your book. What if it’s cold, rainy and you get sick, oh no not worth it!!! Now I pray this will all be over and things get back to normal :pray::pray:

2 Likes

I didn’t know we could apply EDD?? So you can apply even us Notaries self employed?? My last signing was back on March 6th. I live in San Bernardino. County high desert area .

There are federal unemployment funds available for independent contractors and “gig” workers - but you have to go through the steps with your state first in order to access those federal funds.

Short answer - yes you can.

1 Like

Yes, you can. One of the problems with applying online is that you will be asked what line of work you are in.There is no category for Notary or Signing Agent so you need to choose what best matches what you do. I chose the field that has to do with the mortgage industry. Under the mortgage industry there are a number of sub-categories, something like ‘clerk’. That is the closest match. After you register, print out a copy of the page that has your confirmation number. You should get a letter by mail a few days later that you have to sign and submit. I mailed it in on a Saturday and the next Monday I received an email that I no longer had to verify by mail, I would be able to online. I applied over two weeks ago and I haven’t received any further information and so far no check. So in theory you can apply, how long it takes to get any support is still not known by me.

1 Like

San Bernardino County was my old primary clientale area. I had a SS wanting me to notarize electronically, as in witness a signature via Zoom. I questioned their instruction since California does not allow for remote notarization and the SS ended up taking me off the assignment. I actually think that they have removed me from their list since I haven’t had any activity as of late.

As of today March 28, you can go on EDD.ca.gov and open the Pandemic Unemployment Benefits and read about it, you can apply as a self-employed only this time because of the corona virus.

Yes, I qualified under this new condition. My original application was rejected in April but I reapplied under the PUB and was successful.

I’m also in Los Angeles and I have made myself unavailable. Not worth to place myself and husband in danger. Offers will be there once I resume, health comes first.

1 Like