Unemployment benefits could be available to California parents who have to stay home
California parents who need to stay home this fall with their children could be eligible for hundreds of dollars in weekly unemployment benefits.
If the school is closed, or more likely, offers online instruction only — and the parent has to miss work to attend to child care — they could qualify for payments, according to California’s Employment Development Department.
That’s the easy part.
Determining who might qualify, and how much they could receive, involves questions that will vary from person to person.
EDD will schedule a phone interview with a parent to collect more information if necessary to determine eligibility for benefits. During the last school year, parents who had to stop working or cut their hours so they could take care of children due to closed schools were eligible for benefits.
There are several options for schools, which began Thursday in Sacramento. They can open with county-approved waivers or with the state’s okay for a restricted opening. Schools with waivers can only open with plans approved by the county — meaning physical distancing, limited hours, am/pm cohorts, and other requirements.
State guidance issued last week said schools can bring back 25% of students or building capacity. The rules call for schools to prioritize opening for small groups of children with disabilities, those who have special needs, are English language learners, at-risk students or students who need access to the internet or other devices for distance learning.
A Sacramento Bee review of public schools suggested it will be tough for many to reopen on a limited basis under the guidelines.
All this is likely to keep parents at home with their children, and perhaps force them to cut back their hours or leave a job.
Here are some of the scenarios the EDD envisions:
▪ A parent or guardian quits a job. The agency must determine if that person had “good cause” to do so. While people usually have to be available for work in order to get benefits, “individuals could qualify for benefits if, for example, there are no other options for child care available,” EDD advises.
▪ A parent or guardian is not eligible for regular state benefits, but they are the primary caregiver for a child who has to stay home. They could receive benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program if they are otherwise eligible. PUA was created in March to help those who traditionally would not qualify, such as independent contractors, the self-employed and gig workers.
▪ A parent or guardian is permitted by an employer to cut back hours to care for children. They would probably be eligible for reduced benefits, depending on their weekly income and whether they met other eligibility requirements.
Here’s how EDD explains that lesser payment:
The first $25 or 25% of wages, whichever is the greater amount, is not counted as wages earned and will not be reduced from a weekly benefit amount.
So if someone made $100 a week,the agency would deduct $75 from the weekly payment.
For someone who has a weekly benefit amount of $450, the individual would be paid a reduced amount of $375.
Sawsan Morrar, The Sacramento Bee’s school accountability reporter, contributed to this story
This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Unemployment benefits could be available to California parents who have to stay home."
.jpg)