If you are an S-Corporation owner that is on payroll and you have taken a significant hit regarding COVID-19, fire yourself and file a claim for unemployment. Here’s the rules from CA EDD:
Thus, whenever an individual who is an owner/employee of a closely held corporation files a claim for unemployment insurance benefits, to determine where he or she is eligible, we must establish the following:
- Whether the individual is unemployed through no fault of his or her own.
- Whether the individual can control his or her own unemployment or whether the nature of the work is seasonal or erratic.
- Whether the bylaws of the corporation provide for compensation to the individual for his or her services as an officer of the corporation.
- Whether the individual has performed services for the corporation in any capacity other than as an officer of the corporation.
- Whether the individual is seeking work either as an individual or for the corporation and whether the individual is available to a substantial field of employment.