Many unemployed California workers are about to get a $300 payment — but it won’t continue
Hundreds of thousands of Californians who were out of work at the start of last month will be getting another week of supplemental $300 payments from the federal government, the state’s Employment Development Department said Thursday.
The Lost Wages Assistance Program payments to qualified claimants should start going out next week.
They are likely to be the last such supplemental benefits for a long time. President Donald Trump authorized the extra payments in August, and enough money was available for the six weeks ending September 5.
Efforts to continue such payments beyond the six weeks have stalled as talks between the White House and congressional Democratic leaders on a sweeping coronavirus outbreak economic relief package have broken down.
The latest news means that the maximum weekly benefit for California’s qualifying unemployed workers will briefly jump from $450 to $750 for only those weeks between July 26 and September 5 covered by the Lost Wages Assistance program.
The $300 will be available to those receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits, or the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance available to those who traditionally do not qualify for the usual program, such as gig workers or independent contractors.
To be eligible, people must have a minimum weekly benefit award of $100 or more on their initial claim, even if they received a lower payment during this time period because they reported wages.
They must attest their job status is caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. If someone says it is not, they are disqualified from receiving the $300.
California’s unemployment rate in August was 11.4%, the nation’s fifth highest. The state has paid $98.3 billion in benefits since the pandemic sent the economic into a tailspin in March.
Unemployed workers had been receiving an additional $600 in weekly payments from late March through late July, boosting the state maximum to $1,050, but the White House-Congress impasse meant that program expired. Trump created the $300 program in an executive action.
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