Does working a gig job rule out unemployment benefits?

• Position: In the News...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of an unemployed worker who was denied unemployment compensation insurance benefits because he became an Uber driver after he was laid off.

An administrative law judge ruled that the Uber gig made him an "independent commercial driver" and therefore disqualified him from receiving unemployment.

He appealed. A state appeals court ruled, "Claimants who are receiving unemployment compensation benefits after separating from employment often engage in temporary assignments to supplement their income or to assist them in finding a full-time employer.... These assignments do not render a claimant ineligible for unemployment benefits."

The court relied on a 2011 decision that ruled that "short-term work, including self-employment," does not...