Shutdown is a body blow for freelancers

Rebecca Bodenheimer is a freelance writer and cultural critic. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN. (CNN)Congress has just passed a historic $2 trillion stimulus package that was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon. Beyond giving most Americans direct assistance in the form of a one-time check, it extends unemployment benefits to workers who don’t traditionally have access because they don’t have an employer via a new program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Rebecca Bodenheimer This extension is incredibly important because, according to the Freelancers Union, full-time freelancers made up 28% of the American workforce in 2019; in 2014, they made up just 17%. Nonetheless, there are already signs that the implementation of unemployment benefits for self-employed people will be riddled with problems and inconsistencies. Last week, the president of the Freelancers Union, Rafael Espinal, sent a letter to New York City and state lawmakers, urging them to consider the specific plight of freelancers. He wrote, “Unlike traditional employees, freelancers are excluded from receiving paid leave and unemployment insurance, and shoulder the cost of their own health and disability insurance. Without a concerted effort to extend… Read full this story

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