This morning brought long-awaited news for the self-employed, independent contractors and 1099 workers in Ohio – the system to pay them jobless benefits is live. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler reports.
The notice hit inboxes early, said Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Kimberly Hall.
“At 7am we sent out I think 90,000 emails. And we’ll do another 90,000 emails and then we’ll do – we’ll just gradually get people that notice," Hall said.
To keep the system from crashing, Hall said 208,000 workers who pre-registered over the last few weeksare getting notices, but all workers who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment will also be able to apply Wednesday.
Many have had no income since mid-March, though the state has paid out more than $2 billion in benefits.
