As millions of displaced workers seek economic relief in the form of California’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, the federal government has stepped in to supplement it (and each state’s UI program) with funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Read about 2020 agency actions.
This page contains the following information:
Through no fault of their own, many employers have been forced to cut their workforces, and they want to help their displaced workers through these trying times. This page guides you and your newly displaced workers through the UI benefits process in California.
California's UI program provides payments to workers who've lost their jobs or had their hours reduced, and who meet the program's eligibility requirements. In the recent past, UI eligibility required that the displaced worker be:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting "stay at home" orders, however, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) has temporarily eliminated two major eligibility requirements:
For more information, see Unemployment Insurance.
Beginning the week of April 6, the EDD began paying an additional $600 in addition to the weekly benefit amount, the funding for which comes from the federal CARES act. This program, also referred to as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program (FPUC), provided the extra benefits beginning the week ending April 4, 2020, and expired July 31, 2020.
In addition to the weekly $600 supplement to UI benefits, the CARES Act also included a 13-week extension of benefits for claims filed between March 29, 2020, and the end of the year. This federally-funded extension, known as the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), will occur after an individual's regular claim is exhausted.
Congress was considering an extension to the $600 supplemental benefits payments program but failed to reach an agreement prior to its expiration on July 31, 2020.
Shortly after the FPUC program expired, the President issued an executive memorandum creating the Lost Wages Assistance program (LWA). This program provides $300 in supplemental weekly UI benefits to individuals who already have a weekly benefit award of $100 or more. The EDD began processing LWA payments on September 7, 2020. The first round of payments will be retroactive back to the end of the CARES Act payments.
The LWA program will end when the fund from which the program is drawing (Department of Homeland Security’s Disaster Relief Fund) reaches a certain level, or on December 6, 2020, whichever occurs first.
In the recent past, independent contractors — along with self-employed workers and business owners — weren't eligible for UI benefits. But the $2 trillion CARES relief package, which includes the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, changed that. The PUA program will provide displaced independent contractors, self-employed individuals and business owners with a minimum of $167 per week, which may be increased up to $450 per week depending on reported income. These previously ineligible workers also received the $600 CARES act supplemental benefits available to "traditional" displaced workers during the pandemic and may be eligible to receive the $300 supplemental benefits from the LWA program.
PUA eligibility criteria and benefits are different from the standard UI. Under PUA, workers are eligible for benefits if they meet any of these requirements:
Displaced independent contractors, self-employed individuals and business owners should monitor the EDD's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance webpage, has instructions for filing a claim for PUA benefits.
For more information on Independent Contractors, see Independent Contractor.
Employers should consider assisting their displaced workers by offering information on how to apply for UI benefits. If you're fortunate enough to resume business-as-usual when the economy opens up, your returning employees likely will appreciate the assistance you provided when their cards were down.
To apply for benefits, individuals will need to provide their personal information and:
There are three ways to file a UI claim:
Online: This is the fastest way to have a claim accepted and begin receiving benefits. Displaced workers can visit the EDD's UI Online page and apply during the following times:
By phone: Individuals can reach an EDD representative Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., though wait times may be long due to extremely high traffic.
By mail or fax: Applicants fill out one of the following forms, then mail or fax the form to the location provided on the last page of each form:
When an employee files a claim for UI benefits, employers will receive a Notice of Unemployment Insurance Claim Filed from the EDD. Employers should respond with 10 days. Failure to timely respond waives the right to appeal the EDD's eligibility determination.
After a timely response, the employer will receive a Notice of Determination/Ruling, advising the employer of the EDD's eligibility decision. Employer have the right to appeal the EDD's decision if they disagree.
When responding to EDD notices, ensure that any reason given for the separation from employment is accurate, well-documented and consistently explained.
For more information on responding to claims and employee eligibility, see Responding to Unemployment Insurance Claims.
As a potential alternative to layoffs, employers should consider the EDD's Unemployment Work Sharing Program.
The work sharing program allows employers to reduce employee work schedules rather than laying off workers, while allowing these employees to simultaneously collect partial unemployment benefits for the time reduced.
For example, instead of laying off 20 percent of employees, an employer could reduce employees' hours by 20 percent and unemployment insurance (UI) would pay part of the difference in wages to employees. The program helps employers keep their workforce intact during a slowdown, enabling them to ramp up business activity more quickly as conditions improve.
To participate, employers must submit an application to the EDD. Generally, employers would have to submit the Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance Plan Application (DE 8686) in writing, but when Newsom issued Executive Order N-50-20 on April 15, 2020, he directed the EDD to establish an electronic means of expediting access to the work sharing program and gave the EDD discretion to suspend certain application requirements for that purpose. The Work Sharing Application is now available online.
To be eligible for work sharing, the EDD states that employers must meet all of the following requirements:
One downside to the work sharing program is that it's administratively burdensome. In addition to the application itself, once approved, employers must send weekly certifications to the EDD for each participating employee. Employers will be charged for work sharing unemployment insurance in the same manner as regular UI benefits. While this has the potential to increase employers' UI tax rate, layoffs would have the same result when the employees who were let go file for unemployment benefits.
Employers should consult with legal counsel to determine if the work sharing program is a good strategy given their particular circumstances. The program may allow employers to avoid layoffs and stay in operation at a reduced capacity.
Employers can read more about the program and how to apply on the EDD's work sharing site.
