California’s extra $300 unemployment payments are ending. Will they ever return?
That $300 a week extra unemployment money jobless Californians are getting? The five weeks you’re being paid for are now over.
And while you may get another week sometime soon, there’s little hope for any more $300 weekly benefits beyond that.
California has received enough federal money to pay people who qualified for jobless benefits during the five weeks that ran from July 26 through August 29.
The state is in the process of paying the first three weeks of that time period. Qualified claimants are getting an extra $300 for each week that they received their usual benefits.
Details will be available soon on when they can expect payments for the week ending August 22 and 29.
California is trying to get funding for a sixth week, which would cover claimants who got paid during the week ending September 5.
But that’s it, probably at least until the Nov. 3 election and likely beyond, as Congress and the White House remain deadlocked on how or even whether to proceed.
That means that as of now, beneficiaries are back to qualifying to receive their regular unemployment insurance or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments, a maximum of $450 weekly. The PUA payments are available to those who traditionally do not qualify for regular benefits, such as independent contractors or gig workers.
Washington stalemate
Losing the $300 is a fresh blow to the state’s unemployed. They had been receiving a $600 weekly supplement from late March through late July through an economic relief package Congress approved early in the coronavirus pandemic. After that program ended, President Donald Trump took executive action to replace it with the $300 weekly benefit, called Lost Wages Assistance.
He’s not signaled he will extend that further, as there’s a question of where the money would come from.
Though most Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree that an extension of the supplemental payment is needed, they can’t agree on many other ways to offer relief to people hit hard by the coronavirus. As a result, nothing is getting done on that front, and prospects for reviving the benefit before the November election are fading fast.
“It looks that way,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes spending bills.
The holdup stems from an inability by the two parties to agree on more sweeping economic relief legislation. Democrats want a broad package that would include aid to state and local governments, help for renters and more. Republicans prefer a scaled-down plan that would provide help for small businesses while offering no rental or food aid.
“In the talks in recent weeks, there has been agreement. The disagreements here are about the size and scope” of the overall package, Larry Kudlow, White House economic adviser, told Fox Business.Network’s “Varney & Co.”
Asked why Congress doesn’t just pass at least $300, and deal with the bigger package later, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, told The Bee “What I hear from people is we want a balanced bill. We don’t want a bill that’s so disproportionately favored to affluent corporations.” Wyden is the top Democrat on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee.
Guide to benefits
In California, people who have already certified for and were paid benefits for the three weeks ending August 15, have a minimum weekly benefit of at least $100 on their initial claim, and verified to the Employment Development Department that their full or partial unemployment is related to the COVID-19 pandemic are getting the $300 benefit first.
Those who haven’t already informed the EDD their unemployment is related to COVID-19 will see emails, texts, and/or mailed notices starting this week telling them how to provide that to the department to receive the supplemental payments.
Different claimants will get their payments in different ways. Among them:
▪ People who receive payments on an EDD debit card and submitted certification for all three weeks at one time will get a lump sum of $900.
▪ Those who did not submit certification for the three weeks at the same time will see their payments split.
For instance, people with a two week cycle that included the weeks ending August 1 and 8 will get a $600 payment. A few days later, they should see the $300 for the week ending August 15.
Those with the week ending August 1 in the second week of their bi-weekly cycle will see a $300 payment first followed by the $600 for the other two weeks
▪ People who had not yet verified to EDD that their unemployment is related to the pandemic can give self-attestations of their job status starting Tuesday.
▪ The additional two weeks of payments for weeks ending August 22 and 29 will be distributed after the $900 is paid out. No timetable has been set.
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