From the EDD.CA.GOV website:
As part of the federal CARES Act, the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program helps unemployed Californians who are business owners, self-employed, independent contractors, have limited work history, and others not usually eligible for regular state UI benefits who are out of business or services are significantly reduced as a direct result of the pandemic. The provisions of the program include:
- Up to 39 weeks of benefits starting with weeks of unemployment beginning February 2, 2020, through the week ending December 26, 2020*, depending on when you became directly impacted by the pandemic.
- An additional $600 to each PUA weekly benefit amount you may be eligible to receive, as part of the separate CARES Act Pandemic Additional Compensation program. Only the weeks of a claim between March 29 and July 25* are eligible for the extra $600 payments.
- A new 13-week federal extension for those who run out of their regular state-provided UI benefits (maximum 26 weeks). File a PUA claim and you may be converted to the federal extension once it is available.
* Under the CARES Act of 2020, the $600 additional benefits are available through July 31, 2020. However, the US Department of Labor has issued guidance to clarify that, for most Californians, the last full week of benefits will end on July 25, 2020. Similarly, the PUA program has a legislative end date of December 31, 2020, but for Californians, the last full week of benefits will end on December 26, 2020.
Benefits can be retroactive to weeks starting on or after February 2, 2020, depending on your last day of work due to COVID-19 and regardless of when you submitted your claim application. The effective date of your claim will begin the Sunday of the week when you last worked and became unemployed due to reasons directly related to COVID-19.
How to File a Claim
The fastest way to apply for benefits is through UI OnlineSM. You can also apply for PUA by phone, mail, or fax.
You will need the following information:
Proof of Citizenship
You must be authorized to work in the US to receive benefits. If you are not a US citizen, have information from your employment authorization ready.
Information About Your Employment History
Your employment history affects the amount of benefits you receive each week. Submitting accurate information helps us process your claim faster. You will need:
- Employment history from the last 18 months, including the name of the company or companies as they appear on your paycheck, the dates of employment, hours worked per week, gross wages earned, hourly rate of pay, and the reason you are no longer working.
- Specific information from your last employer or company, including mailing address, phone number, supervisor’s name, total gross wages for the last week you worked, and the reason for your change in employment.
Federal and Military Documents
- If you are a former federal employee, have your Notice to Federal Employees About Unemployment Insurance (Standard Form 8) ready.
- If you served in the military in the last 18 months, have your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD 214) ready.
After you have filed, refer to our step-by-step UI claims process. You’ll learn what to expect and the actions you need to take through the course of your claim for receiving benefit payments as long as you’re eligible.
Benefit Payments
You will be required to “certify” for your benefit payments. Certifying is the process of answering basic questions every two weeks that tells us you’re still unemployed and otherwise eligible to continue receiving biweekly payments.
Typically, it will take about a week after you certify before you receive your first benefit payment. If you are eligible for benefits, you may receive your first PUA payment in about two days if you have an existing EDD Debit CardSM (and there are no issues that require a further review of eligibility). New debit cards and checks are mailed within four to seven days. Once you activate the card you can track, use, and transfer your benefit payments.
Certifying for Weeks Ending March 14 through May 9, 2020
In order to provide benefits as quickly as possible, payments will be issued in phases. If you qualify for PUA, and depending on the effective date of your PUA claim, the initial payments you will receive are as follows:
- Phase 1
$167 per week for each week you were unemployed from February 2, 2020 to March 28, 2020 due to a COVID-19 related reason. - Phase 2
$167 plus $600 per week for each week you were unemployed from March 29, 2020 to July 25, 2020, due to a COVID-19 related reason. - Phase 3
$167 per week, for each week from July 26, 2020 to December 26, 2020, that you are unemployed due to a COVID-19 related reason, up to a total of 39 weeks (minus any weeks of regular UI and certain extended UI benefits that you have received).
Note: If you qualify for your claim to be backdated to an earlier PUA effective date based on your last day of work, you could receive payment for prior weeks you were unemployed due to COVID-19.
Once we are able to complete further programming, we will be able to increase the benefit amount to a maximum of $450 per week if you earned more than $17,368 in 2019. This page will be updated with instructions for reporting additional wages for higher weekly payments.
