You might want to talk to a lawyer about this one.
I’ve freelanced fulltime for the past 10 years and I’ve never heard of being able to claim unemployment benefits. I heard of one person that tried it and the firm basically said they were crazy for even thinking about it, work someplace for a week and then try to get months of unemployment in the future.
You are your own employer, so who would be paying you? If you’re currently getting it based on your work with another company, then you’d have to find out what the exact terms are that would clear them from that obligation.
And if I remember correctly in order to get benefits like that sometimes, you have to prove that you are actively pursuing full-time employment.
The thing with freelance is that you’re on your own to sink or swim. That lack of security is one of the dangers. I had one dry year that I made below poverty level, but still ended up having to pay taxes at the end of the year. Unless there was some whole section I missed, that’s just the way it is. If I had made the same amount of money working for someone else I would’ve been able to get all kinds of credits and would’ve received a refund.
But talk to someone trained in the field, most likely it hinges on the specific terms that would get the person currently paying out of that obligation.