Update regarding UI Benefit Payment Issues for School Employees in California
By UnemploymentPUA.com Staff, Friday, June 19, 2020
We had previously reported an issue regarding teachers and other school employees in California not getting paid, with their certification status being stuck on pending.
The California Employment Development Department (EDD) has recently issued a press release on this issue:
School employees and UI eligibility – Federal and state law do not permit school employees to be eligible for regular UI benefits during a school recess period, including the summer break.
That’s as long as these employees base their claim on their school wages, and they are scheduled or likely to return to their usual or similar job when the break is over. Despite schools closing early this year due to the pandemic, the US Department of Labor is requiring all states to treat this year as any other. Therefore, the EDD must determine on a case-by-case basis whether employees have reasonable assurance that they will be returning to work in the fall and if so, deny eligibility for benefits this summer.
- An exception to this is if workers have enough wages during their base period that were earned from non-school employment to support an alternate weekly benefit amount they can be paid on their UI claim.
So according to the EDD, it has been instructed by the Department of Labor to this year is treated just like any other year, despite the COVID-19 Pandemic, and verify reasonable assurance of returning to work. This may significantly delay the receipt of benefits especially in these unstable times when different counties are still working on procedures for reopening schools and everything lays under a fog of uncertainty.
It is possible that the EDD will contact you for an interview or further information, however UnemploymentPUA.com recommends that you contact the EDD yourself and try to see if you can get a representative and provide any necessary information about your situation in order to get any flags on your account cleared so that you can continue to certify and receive Unemployment Benefit payments.
If you have any new info, you can email our hotline at hotline@unemploymentpua.com.