- Anyone filing for California unemployment benefits must meet a variety of requirements before receiving benefit payments. You must have earned enough wages in the last twelve months, be at least partially unemployed not because of something you did, be physically able to work, be looking for work and continue to meet the requirements each week that you wish to receive benefits.
- Filing for California unemployment benefits is an eleven-step process. Employers are required to give a state-produced booklet outlining the unemployment benefits process to employees who are laid off. You may then apply for benefits online, by phone or by filling out a form and faxing or mailing it to California's Employment Development Department. The Employment Development Department will analyze your application and assess your eligibility. If denied, you have a right to appeal. Otherwise, you will begin to receive benefits.
- Calculating unemployment benefits is a bit of a complex process. The Employment Development Department looks to a 12-month "base period," with a starting point of generally a 15-to-17-month period to your claim for unemployment. The department then looks at the quarter of that base period in which you had the highest earnings. To receive the maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $450, you would need to have earned more than $11,600 in a quarter during your base period.
- Your California unemployment claim remains valid for a year. However, you many only receive unemployment benefits for 12 to 26 weeks, based on your earnings in your base period. However, unemployment may be extended upon enactment by the U.S. Congress or the California state legislature. You are encouraged to apply for unemployment benefits as soon as you become less than full-time employed because there is a lag period during your application process, and there is a one-week unpaid waiting period that does not start until your unemployment benefit claim has been filed.
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