Questions regarding unemployment, SBA.gov and owning an S-corp
My best friend asked me a couple of questions that I simply didn't have answers so I thought to post them here in hopes of getting some clarity.
Question about if I'm allowed to keep working at my own company (for free) if I fire myself and draw unemployment. My 2 business partners and I are owners of an S-corp, and we pay ourselves a salary through a payroll service, which handles all the normal withholdings including paying into unemployment insurance. We just recently 'laid off' ourselves due to the complete cessation of our business due to the pandemic and government orders to stop non-essential business. We are now collecting unemployment. The question is, as individuals, are we allowed to #1. Go into work (a private office not open to the public) to do things like clean, organize, remodel our office, take on-line classes to catch up on training, bid jobs, network, etc? #2. Work from home to do the same as #1?#3. Can the S-corp continue to take in revenue from sources such as interest on loans we've made, deposits for future contracts, and automatic online sales, so long as these funds stay in our company account and are not drawn by the unemployed owners as either wage or profit draw? However, we plan to use some of these funds to pay rent, 1099'ed subcontractors who perform off-site work, monthly loan payments on purchased equipment, etc. during our time of unemployment.
Any and all help with the above questions would be greatly appreciated. All the best, Garth