I lost my part-time gig because of the coronavirus lockdown. Can I claim unemployment insurance?
Yes. The federal CARES Act creates a temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides unemployment insurance coverage to self-employed individuals, independent contractors and those with limited work history. (You must be available for work but unable to do your job as a result of the pandemic.) All of these individuals were barred from claiming state unemployment insurance benefits prior to the passage of this law.