Hey all,

Good news for Ohio workers: today at some point you will be able to pre-register for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Visit unemployment.ohio.gov and click "Get Started Now" to begin the process. I highly suggest you "get in line" now to get the ball moving.

For those who might not already know, PUA is a temporary federally funded program that covers individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for unemployment (like the self-employed) or have exhausted their benefits. You would need to be unemployed, partially unemployed, or out of work due to certain COVID-19 reasons. You don’t have to be actively seeking work to receive these benefits which will be retroactive (max. of 39 weeks) and equal 100% of the covered individual’s regular weekly compensation (not less than $600 per week).

You’ll want to start gathering documentation to substantiate your income, such as your 2019 tax return and more specifically your Schedule C.

You can also visit this website for more information as its updated.

Hopefully we will have more news to come about next steps soon.

Thank you.

Tim