Board approves contracts enabling Nevada gig workers to get benefits

The Board of Examiners met Tuesday to approve contracts that will help more workers get benefits.

The two largest contracts are to help the employment Security Division deal with getting benefits to people who normally aren’t eligible for unemployment.

The largest is with 8x8 Inc., to provide a cloud-based phone system to support the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. The total on that contract is $4,521,536. The original emergency contract for that system was approved on April 3. It will run through May 31, 2023.

That system will provide benefits to Nevadans who don’t normally qualify for unemployment including gig workers, independent contractors and 1099 workers.

The second is for $3,995,145 with Geographic Solutions to provide software and user training for the PUA benefits system separate from the main unemployment benefits system.

The third contract is an unrelated contract for $130,310 to Hooft Architecture to provide architectural and engineering services for the Carlin Readiness Center project.

The contracts were approved without any explanation on the record as to what they were for.