As California jobs become available again, what will change with unemployment benefits?
What happens if you’re reluctant to accept a job offer as coronavirus cases spike again? Can you still get payments if you need to stay home to care for children?
Suppose you’re called back to work — but only get half the hours you once did?
In all those cases, you could be eligible to continue collecting unemployment benefits.
The economy is far from being back to pre-pandemic levels, and Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday ordered new restrictions. But people are slowly being called back to work, and those receiving unemployment benefits face new challenges as they try to navigate what, if anything, they can collect.
“There’s more to a job than a paycheck. In uncertain times, workers seek stability, and the reassurance of continued work is something workers no longer have,” said Michele Evermore, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project.
“Workers cannot refuse suitable work and receive unemployment benefits, but unsafe work is not suitable work,” Evermore said. “This is both a workers rights issue and a public health issue.”
The state is currently managing its regular unemployment benefit program, which can pay up to 26 weeks of benefits, as well as other benefit programs aimed at dealing with the coronavirus-triggered jobs crisis: Pandemic Extended Unemployment Compensation, which could add another 13 weeks, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and FED-ED extended benefits that could add up to 20 weeks.
The PUA program is the new federal benefit created in March as part of Washington, D.C.’s economic relief program. It allows the self-employed and independent contractors and others who traditionally would not qualify for regular unemployment insurance payments to receive them through the end of the year if they are unemployed due to a qualifying federal COVID-19 related reason.
Since the pandemic sent claims soaring in mid-March, the state has paid $41.3 billion in benefits to state residents, including $7.4 billion in PUA.
Answers to your questions
The state’s Employment Development Department and the U.S. Labor Department say these are some of the most-asked questions about the return to work:
Q: I got an offer to return to my job, but I’m afraid of contracting COVID-19 and would rather not accept the offer. Can I continue to collect unemployment benefits?
A: You have to report this offer when you respond to question 4 on your bi-weekly certification form. An EDD staff member will look over your case and arrange a phone interview to ask for more information if needed. They may also contact your potential employer before it can be determined if you can keep receiving unemployment payments.
Q: What sort of things could allow me to refuse work and still get benefits?
A: You have to have what the EDD refers to as “good cause.” For instance, for regular unemployment insurance benefits, the state Department of Public Health in a March 16 notice cited several factors that could put you in a risky category, such as being over 65 or having a serious health condition such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes. For PUA benefits, under federal law, you have to be unemployed for a qualifying COVID-19 related reason.
Q: I’m back at work, but working fewer hours than I was in February. Can I collect unemployment?
A: What you now earn is factored into a reduced benefit. Here’s EDD’s example: “If you earned $100 in a week, the Department would not count $25 as wages and would only deduct $75 from your weekly benefit amount. For someone who has a weekly benefit amount of $450, they would be paid a reduced amount of $375.” Put another way, the first $25 or 25% of your earnings, whichever is more, is not counted and won’t be deducted from the benefit.
Can I still stay home with the children?
Q: I got benefits during the school year, when I left work so I could care for my children. But the school year is over and I could return to work. With this recent jump in coronavirus cases, I think it’s more important I remain home. Can I still get benefits?
A: Potentially. Here’s the U.S. Labor Department guidance: “Once the regular 2019-2020 school year is over, parents should rely on their customary summer arrangements for caring for their children. Absent some other qualifying circumstances, the individual will not be eligible to receive PUA.” You’re probably not eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefit either unless your choosing to stay at home meets “good cause” provisions.
But if the camp, pool or whatever you usually use for summer child care is closed because of COVID-19, and you can’t work because you don’t have child care, you probably could keep receiving benefits.
Q: My doctor said I should self-quarantine because of a compromised immune system. Can I qualify for benefits?
A: Yes, as long as you’ve been advised to do so by a health care provider. The Labor Department warns that “without having been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine, an individual who does not go to work due to general concerns about exposure to COVID-19, and who does not meet any of the other COVID-19 related criteria for PUA, is not eligible for PUA.”
Q: I’m back as a driver, but it’s difficult to get customers. My income is way down from February. Can I continue to collect benefits?
A: “An independent contractor may be eligible for PUA if he or she is unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work” for a COVID-19 related reason, says the U.S. Labor Department. It added, “This includes an independent contractor who experiences a significant diminution of work as a result of COVID-19.”
A driver could be eligible for regular unemployment benefits if he or she is considered an employee instead of an independent contractor. Whether you are receiving regular unemployment insurance or PUA benefits, those benefit amounts will be reduced depending on how much you report each week.
Q: If I’m back at work, and my benefit amount has been reduced, can I still get the extra $600 a week that’s been available since March?
A: Yes. But that payment only applies to weeks beginning March 29 and is scheduled to end July 25. While the U.S. House has passed legislation extending it through January, the Senate — which does not return from its current recess until July 20 — is unlikely to agree.
Q: School closed early, and I’m not working. I’m a teacher. Can I collect benefits?
A: “Federal and state law do not permit school employees to be eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits during a school recess period, including the summer break,” EDD advises, as long as you’re likely to return to your “usual or similar” job when the summer break is over.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "As California jobs become available again, what will change with unemployment benefits?."
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