Self-Employment Assistance June 13 th, :00 - 1:30 EST

2 Self-Employment Assistance Welcome to Workforce 3 One! Welcome to Workforce 3 One!

3 Self-Employment Assistance Submitting Questions: Open Chat Text Field Drop-Down Menu  To submit a question, type the question in the text field and press your Enter/Return key. ‒ Please enter the name to whom the question is directed.  To send questions only to the presenters, select Presenters from the drop-down menu before pressing your Enter/Return key.  Change Text Size and Chat Color…

4 Self-Employment Assistance Practice In the Chat Room, please type the name of your organization, your location, and how many people are attending with you today.

5 Self-Employment Assistance Access to Webinar Resources WEBINAR RESOURCES: Recordings and transcripts are available within 2 business days after the event.

6 Self-Employment Assistance Presenters Moderator Administrator, Gay Gilbert, Administrator, Unemployment Insurance Presenters Suzanne Simonetta, Chief, UI Legislation Betty Castillo, Chief, UI Operations Ron Wilus, Chief, Fiscal and Actuarial Scott Gibbons, UI, Fiscal and Actuarial Services

7 Self-Employment Assistance Welcome Purpose of Webinar  Overview of New Self Employment Assistance (SEA) Provisions contained in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (P.L )  Overview of Guidance in UIPL No , including opportunity for SEA grant funding.  Provide an opportunity for states to discuss SEA and ask questions.

8 Self-Employment Assistance Webinar Agenda  Overview of the SEA provisions in P.L  Overview of SEA Program Operations  Overview of Grant Funding for SEA  Discussion of Proposed Reporting Requirements  Technical Assistance to states implementing SEA programs

9 Self-Employment Assistance Overview of SEA Provisions  Permits states to establish SEA programs for individuals eligible for EB or EUC.  Provides $35M for grants to states for: Implementation/improved administration of SEA programs; or Promotion of SEA programs/ enrollment of individuals in those programs.  Requires the Secretary of Labor to develop model language, provide technical assistance and guidance, and establish reporting requirements for the SEA program after consultation with stakeholders and program experts.  Submission of an evaluation of the SEA programs to Congress within 5 years of enactment.

10 Self-Employment Assistance Definition of Self-Employment Assistance in Federal Law  §3306(t) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act Individuals meeting requirements are eligible to receive a self-employment allowance in lieu of regular UC, for the purpose of establishing a business and becoming self- employed. Allowance identical to regular UC, except that state requirements relating to A&A, work search, job refusal, and disqualifying income do not apply, and individuals are considered to be unemployed. Individuals must be identified under state worker profiling system as likely to exhaust regular UC.

11 Self-Employment Assistance Definition of Self-Employment Assistance in Federal Law  §3306(t) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act Individuals must be actively engaged full-time in self- employment related activities, including entrepreneurial training, business counseling, and technical assistance. Aggregate number of participants in a state may not exceed 5% of individuals receiving UC in the state. The program may not result in any net cost to the Unemployment Trust Fund.

12 Self-Employment Assistance SEA Programs Three potential SEA program opportunities:  SEA for Regular UI claimants  SEA for EB claimants  SEA for EUC claimants

13 Self-Employment Assistance State SEA Program  States must have an SEA law to operate an SEA program for UI claimants; the regular SEA program remains unchanged except for new reporting requirements.  Also, P.L makes grant monies available for implementation and/or improved administration and for promotion and enrollment activities.

14 Self-Employment Assistance EB and EUC SEA Programs  States must have an SEA law to operate an EB SEA program in the state.  States do not need to enact an SEA law to operate an EUC SEA program in the state; however, states must execute an Addendum to their EUC Agreement with the Department to pay EUC SEA.  EB and EUC SEA recipients do not need to be identified through a state’s profiling system as likely to exhaust (regular) benefits to participate in the EB or EUC SEA programs; however the state must have a reasonable expectation that these recipients have 13 weeks remaining entitlement to EUC and/or EB.  Combined Eligibility Limit – individuals may receive up to 26 weeks of EB SEA and/or EUC SEA combined.

15 Self-Employment Assistance EB and EUC SEA Programs  The 5 percent limitation on individuals participating in the regular SEA program is instead 1 percent for participants of SEA EB and EUC programs; the restriction of no net cost to the Unemployment Trust Fund does not apply.  Interstate EUC claimants residing in a state that is operating an EUC SEA program may participate in that state’s program, if otherwise eligible; the paying state may waive their EUC work search requirements (note: the paying state does not need to execute the addendum to the EUC agreement with the Department).

16 Self-Employment Assistance EB and EUC SEA Programs  Implementing a successful SEA program requires collaboration with entrepreneurial training providers and other service providers to support new entrepreneurs.  The Department of Labor recommends that states actively engage with partners in the public workforce system, with service providers operating under the auspices of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and with local and community-based organizations supporting new entrepreneurs.  SBA provides a number of financial assistance programs. More information on SBA financing can be found at:

17 Self-Employment Assistance SEA Grant Funds  A total of $35M is available for grants to states to: Implement/improve administration of SEA programs; or Promote SEA and enroll individuals in these programs. (Note that these are two separate grants)  Grant proposal outline is Attachment 3 to UIPL No  Deadline to apply for these grants is June 30, 2013.

18 Self-Employment Assistance SEA Grant Funds  Each state may apply for the amount of funds listed on Attachment 2 to UIPL No  Consistent with the way unemployment data is used for allocating funds for other ETA programs, each state’s share is based on the number of unemployed individuals in a state relative to the number of unemployed individuals in all states.  The SEA funds are based on the states’ share of U.S. total unemployment for the 12-month period ending February 2012.

19 Self-Employment Assistance Required Reporting  Total number of UC claimants that were referred to SEA, participated in SEA, and received an allowance under SEA  Total amount of allowances provided to SEA participants  Claimants who discontinue participation in SEA  Claimants in SEA who receive a final payment (zeroing out their account)  Total income for businesses established by SEA participants and total number of individuals employed in such businesses  Other information as the Secretary deems appropriate

20 Self-Employment Assistance Required Reporting Self-Employment Assistance Outcomes  Number of establishments created by SEA claimants  Cumulative number of SEA establishments operating  Individuals employed by SEA establishments  Gross revenues earned by SEA establishments  Wages paid to individuals in SEA establishments

21 Self-Employment Assistance Technical Assistance  Model Legislative Language  Support from Small Business Administration  Webinars  Best Practices from States with Strong SEA Programs  State Specific Technical Assistance

22 Self-Employment Assistance Question and Input Period

23 Self-Employment Assistance Share Your Ideas with Your Peers! Share your demand-driven strategic plans, models, innovations, resources, and ideas! You have the option to submit content for review by uploading the resource or providing a link to the resource.

24 Self-Employment Assistance Access to Webinar Resources WEBINAR RESOURCES: Recordings and transcripts are available within 2 business days after the event.

25 Self-Employment Assistance Stay Informed, Get Connected!

26 Self-Employment Assistance For more information about the Workforce Investment System:  Visit  Call US2-JOBS