Some Californians are seeing large unemployment balances. Why they won’t get the money
Thousands of people with unemployment claims are seeing they have a claim balance of thousands of dollars — but if it involves federal claims, forget it. You won’t see any of that money.
That’s because federal unemployment benefits, funded by the federal government, ended nearly a month ago and no lawmakers in Washington are talking about reviving them.
“The issue of a ‘claim balance’ is all part of the general confusion people are facing as the federal unemployment benefits have expired,” said Loree Levy, spokesman for the state’s Employment Development Department.
The claim balance, otherwise known as the Maximum Benefit Amount, is calculated when someone starts a claim or an unemployment extension. It’s an estimate of the maximum they could receive over the course of a claim before it expires.
The claim balance has become more notable recently because EDD was able to provide an extra week of federally-funded payments to about 340,000 claimants.
Where’s did the money go?
Here’s what happened:
All but one of the federal unemployment benefit programs created during the COVID pandemic expired September 4. One did not, the Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits Program, or FED-ED.
So for one week only, EDD moved over about 340,000 people getting benefits under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which expired Sept. 4, into the FED-ED program, which did not end until Sept. 11.
A new FED-ED claim usually had come with up to 13 weeks of benefits available. These “transitioned” claimants would only be able to get one week of benefits before the FED-ED program expired, but their statements can show the other weeks of benefits as a claim balance – which can no longer be tapped.
EDD has been trying mightily to tell people there’s no more of that money coming.
It’s posted information on its website, in social media, through other agencies and the media.
“Your claim balance shows the maximum benefit amount that can be collected on your claim or extension,” says a note on the EDD website. “It is not necessarily the full amount that you will collect.”
There are several ways the claim balance does not reflect the actual amounts someone will receive:
▪ If they have an active claim and do not certify for certain weeks – maybe because they went back to work for awhile – they could be disqualified for those weeks.
▪ If they are eligible for reduced weekly benefits, there could be a remaining claim balance when the claim ends.
▪ The federal program paying their benefits ended before they reached the maximum number of weeks allowed.
Remember, EDD advises, the state’s regular unemployment insurance program is continuing, and anyone with a claim balance remaining those claims can still collect on that Maximum Benefit Award until that claim expires.
Can you still file a claim?
People with expired federal benefit claims can apply and be found eligible for a new regular unemployment insurance claim if they have earned enough in employer paid wages over the previous 18-month period and lost their job or have been forced to work fewer hours through no fault of their own. Current average benefit is $314 weekly.
Per federal rules, EDD is accepting applications for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, even though it expired, through Wednesday.
Those who qualify must show they were unemployed prior to Sept. 4 due to a COVID-related reason covered by the federal CARES Act, have not already been paid PUA or regular unemployment insurance or extension benefits for that period, and would only be potentially eligible for benefits up to that Sept 4 expiration date.
Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020 as the COVID pandemic was beginning to devastate the economy.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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