California Unemployment - I'll file on August 16th 2012, how much assistance am I eligible to receive? (extension, apply)

[Susan1214]

I apologize if this is an obvious question, but I've been over and over this page on the EDD website New Federal Unemployment Insurance Extensions and the legal language is tying my brain in knots. I will file for unemployment benefits on 8/16/2012. My last day of work is 8/15 and I have been laid off due to downsizing by my company, so I have a clear unemployment claim.

Am I eligible only for the regular 26 weeks of UI, or will I be eligible for any tiers of extended benefits if I'm unable to find a job by the end of that 26 weeks?

Any help or information will be much appreciated. Thank you!

[Chyvan]

As of right now, unless congress passes more extensions, you're only going to get up to 26 weeks.

[thebunny]

Your regular 26 weeks will not run out until Feb 2013. In order for you to receive any extended benefits, 1st COngress has to extend the deadlines and extensions. After that, they have to extend them in such a way that people who have benefits expire when yours do will be effected.

I am just guessing, but if it goes down to the wire, I see the first extensions (if more are granted) being applicable to those who lost benefits on 12-29.

Best of luck.

[Ariadne22]

Up to this point, Congress has never excluded anyone from EUC whose state benefits were exhausted after the new legislation was enacted, provided these benefits were exhausted within the active period of the legislation.

I'm guessing Congress will do this December as it did last December - enact a temporary extension into 2013, probably expiring no later than the end of February. In January, the new Congress will look at the program again and decide in what form it will extend for 2013.

Because of CA's waiting week, OP won't exhaust her 26 weeks any earlier than March 2 - at which time legislation (form unknown) for the year should be in place (hopefully).

There have been a couple of periods where UE legislation has lapsed for up to five weeks. If Congress can't come to an agreement at the end of the year, federal benefits will end on 12/29. If that happens, it will take the states a couple of weeks or more to get caught up on payments once legislation is again in put in place.

For now, just plan on 26 weeks. We should know more after Thanksgiving.

[thebunny]

I have her in the middle of Feb not March 2nd. I am guessing you are not counting the week in which she files as the waiting week.

The waiting week will be the week she files. That is the whole reason to hurry up and file, as your waiting week will count even if you have wages. (I have done this and was surprised, but it is how CA does it and one of the reasons to hurry up and file...as if you needed other reasons aside from starting to get paid as soon as possible). So, wages or not, OP files the day she loses her job. She will get a claim form that is "xxxx" out for that week (w/e 8/18), the next week (w/e 8/25) she will be able to claim.

Also, you are counted as filing on Sunday no matter when you actually file. So, filing on Thursday the 16th will be considered a week starting the 12th.

The waiting week will be the 12th-18 of August. The 26th week the 10th-16th of February, 2013.

[Chyvan]

That's interesting information on the waiting week in CA. In AZ, the waiting week is the first week you meet all eligibility requirements. Therefore, if you earn more than your weekly benefit amount, that week doesn't count. So it really sucks to be terminated on a Friday late in the day because you'll have certainly earned more than your weekly benefit amount. The best day to get let go is probably on a Tuesday, or even a Monday if you're a high wage earner.

Seeing as how I "quit," I was able to make that work for me. I earned approximately $200 in my waiting week so I had earnings during a week when most others get nothing.

Also, when starting a job, I'd never want to start on a Monday. I'd always try to start on a Thursday or Friday to let my benefits make up the difference. However, some think that earning more in a week is what counts. I look at things in terms of dollar/hour. I'd much rather get my UI check and not have worked than to make like $1 more than my UI check and have invested 20 hours+ in the process.

[Susan1214]

Thank you all so much for your detailed answers! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your feedback. I've never had to file for unemployment before, so this is all new to me. Thank you again!

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by thebunny

I have her in the middle of Feb not March 2nd. I am guessing you are not counting the week in which she files as the waiting week.

The waiting week will be the week she files. That is the whole reason to hurry up and file, as your waiting week will count even if you have wages. (I have done this and was surprised, but it is how CA does it and one of the reasons to hurry up and file...as if you needed other reasons aside from starting to get paid as soon as possible). So, wages or not, OP files the day she loses her job. She will get a claim form that is "xxxx" out for that week (w/e 8/18), the next week (w/e 8/25) she will be able to claim.

Also, you are counted as filing on Sunday no matter when you actually file. So, filing on Thursday the 16th will be considered a week starting the 12th.

The waiting week will be the 12th-18 of August. The 26th week the 10th-16th of February, 2013.

Well this poster had a different experience in CA. She filed on 11/9, first claim week was 11/26, which left the week she filed (11/12) and the following week (11/19) unpaid:

Originally Posted by Lauracore

Thanks for replying. I have yet to receive my second payment. The date I filed was Nov 9th. I received a claim payment the week of 11/26 on 12/10.

//www.city-data.com/forum/22186405-post29.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/unemp...it-card-4.html

laura's waiting week did not begin the Sunday prior to filing, or even on the date on which she filed, which sort of conflicts with what CA says, somewhat ambiguously imo, here:

Individuals should apply for benefits as soon as they are unemployed, or working less than full-time. All claims are effective on the Sunday prior to applying for benefits, and have a one week unpaid waiting period. The waiting period does not begin until the claim is filed.

http://www.edd.ca.gov/unemployment/f...yforUIbenefits

[thebunny]

That is weird.

I was fired on a Thursday. My claim started on the Sunday of that week (4 days prior to the date I was terminated) and that week did count as my waiting week. My hourly wage, and hours worked in the week (I worked the Sunday as I was in retail) were more than my claim amount would have been for the week. However, my waiting period week was the one in which I filed.

The way it was explained to me is that the part in the book about the waiting week not beginning until the claim is filed is this:

Week of Termination 8/5 to 8/11 Termination on 8/10
File on 8/10 or 8/11, the waiting period is the week of 8/5 to 8/11.
However, if you wait until 8/13 to file, even though you were fired on the 10th, the waiting period does not go back any farther than the SUnday of the week the claim is filed. So, the waiting week would then be 8/12 to 8/18.

It means that even if you wait a week, or 2, or 4 after termination to file, the first week of your claim is still counted as a waiting week as the waiting period does not begin until a claim is filed, no matter how long the claimant has been unemployed.