Substitute teacher says previous gig-work is restricting her unemployment benefits

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tyne Appleton has yet to see any unemployment benefits since filing her application back in March and is now learning it could be because her work history designates her as “self-employed.”

Appleton has worked for the Rutherford County School system since September; so she considers herself far from “self-employed.” When schools officially closed their doors on March 13, Appleton was already preparing herself to file for unemployment.

Appleton tells us she works through a third-party called Advantage xPO, who hire out substitute teachers to various schools. It crossed Appleton’s mind that maybe this was the issue, but she says most of her colleagues had already been paid their unemployment benefits. Appleton credits the company for working as fast they did to provide notices, you could then hand to creditors or inquiring landlords.

The only difference Appleton could think of between she and her colleagues, is that in the months before becoming a substitute, she worked for UberEats and DoorDash. At the time, Appleton was pregnant with her now 7-month-old son, Kingston.

“When I was pregnant with my son, I was having pregnancy complications, so I needed a job that wasn’t full time,” said Appleton.

The unemployment application requires you list where you worked for the past 18 months, which means Appleton is still technically considered self-employed. When she filed for unemployment, the idea didn’t even cross Appleton’s mind, having been gainfully employed with a steady job for six months.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments have only recently begun for self-employed workers, but Appleton says there could be many others like herself falling through the cracks.

“I think about my kid and I want other people to think about this because there’s so many people out there with children and if I didn’t have a plan in place already using my savings, then next week I wouldn’t know where I would be,” said Appleton.

Appleton says when she contacted the state’s unemployment offices for help, she was told to file a wage protest for back in March. She says most of her colleagues did the same and still managed to get paid. Appleton says she’s now concerned the protest may have set her claim back even further in line.

“At this point I don’t know if I will ever see any money,” said Appleton.

State officials say even if you filed for unemployment under the wrong designation, they will use your work history as far back as 18 months, as reference.

In a statement provided by the Tennessee Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development, they say, “the state paid tens of thousands of PUA claims over the weekend with payments depositing today and the rest of the week. We continue to pay those claims and should be completed this week.”