The California Employment Development Department (EDD) encourages employees to apply for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits if they are unemployed or had their hours reduced, which includes, but is not limited to, the following circumstances:
- Employees who are furloughed or experience reduced work hours due to the quarantine.
- Employees who were separated (e.g., terminated, laid off, place of employment shut down, etc.) from their employer during the quarantine.
- Employees who are subject to a quarantine required by a medical professional or state or local health officer.
- Employees who are now eligible for UI benefits under recent federal legislation.
Generally, under California law, employees are eligible for benefits if they have enough earnings over the past 12-18 months and meet other eligibility criteria.
Employees who wish to file for UI benefits should visit the EDD’s online portal to begin the process. Given the unprecedented number of UI claims in recent weeks, the EDD recommends that applicants file their claims online.
Pursuant to the Governor’s March 12, 2020 Executive Order, the state has removed the one-week waiting period for unemployment and disability insurance for Californians who lose work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The EDD will process and issue payments within a few weeks of receiving a claim.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020 expanded UI benefits to workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to include self-employed workers, independent contractors, and those with limited work history and those who have exhausted their state UI compensation. The Act extends UI benefits from 26 weeks to 39 weeks and provides for an additional $600 per week benefit to each recipient of UI benefits for up to 4 months (expires July 31, 2020).
In California, the CARES Act extends UI benefits from 26 weeks to 39 weeks for eligible workers. This benefit is generally available to those who are able and available to work and are actively seeking work.
“Covered individuals” under the CARES Act include those who provide self-certification that they are able and available to work, but are unemployed or partially unemployed because:
- They have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19 and are seeking a diagnosis;
- A member of their household has been diagnosed with COVID-19;
- They are providing care for a family or household member who has been diagnosed with COVID-19;
- They have a child or member of their household for whom they have primary caregiving responsibility, who cannot attend school or another facility that is closed as a direct result of COVID-19, and the child's or household member's attendance at such school or facility is required for them to work;
- They cannot reach their place of employment because of a quarantine imposed as a direct result of COVID-19;
- They cannot reach their place of employment because they have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19;
- They were scheduled to begin employment and do not currently have a job or they are unable to reach the job as a direct result of COVID-19;
- They have become the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID-19;
- They had to quit their job as a direct result of COVID-19;
- Their place of employment is closed as a direct result of COVID-19; or
- They meet any additional criteria established by the Secretary of Labor for assistance.
Individuals are not eligible for UI benefits under the CARES Act if they are able to work remotely, or are already receiving other paid leave benefits, regardless if they meet any of the qualifications listed above.
More information on UI benefits and the application process can be found on the EDD’s COVID-19 FAQs webpage.