Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to aid some COVID-19 related unemployed

April 23, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program is an emergency unemployment assistance program under the federal CARES Act that unemployed Californians can turn to if they do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance.

The newly available program provides up to 39 weeks of assistance for unemployed or partially unemployed individuals who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance and who are unable or unavailable to work due to COVID-19 related circumstances.

LEADING THE RCNS/SCNS HEADLINES:
Couple arrested after shotgun blasts rattle Redding neighborhood
Man who caused 2019 crash that killed pedestrian, 72, charged
UPDATE: Man killed in Perris off-roading crash ID’d
Man, 22, dies days after Jurupa Valley Shooting
No charges after dog, twice run over, dies

According to a release issued by 1st District Assemblywoman Megan Dahle, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program is specifically for business owners, self employed, certain independent contractors, individuals with limited recent work history, and gig workers who are not already participating in the UI Elective Coverage Program who are unemployed, partially unemployed, unable to work, or unavailable to work as a direct result of a COVID-19 related reason.

“The Employment Development Department has been directed to streamline the process so that Californians who are struggling financially due to COVID-19 can get assistance as soon as possible,” explained Dahle.

The Employment Development Department (EDD) will begin accepting on-line applications for this program beginning Tuesday, April 28.

** Under the CARES Act of 2020, the $600 additional benefits are available through 07/31/20. However, the U.S. DOL has issued guidance to clarify that, for most Californians, the last full week of benefits will end on 07/25/20. Similarly, the PUA program has a legislative end date of 12/31/20, but for most Californians the last full week of benefits will end on 12/26/20.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I know if I am eligible for PUA?

You may qualify for PUA benefits if:

You are unemployed, partially unemployed, unable to work or unavailable to work as a direct result of a COVID-19 related reason AND:
- You are a business owner, self-employed, independent contractor or gig worker (and are not participating in the UI Elective Coverage Program). You will be able to indicate if you have no employment wages (for example, you did not receive a W-2), solely for the purpose of applying for the PUA program (and not to be used for any other purpose). However, you may proceed with a regular UI claim if you believe you were misclassified and have wages from an employer.

You don’t have sufficient work history. This generally means you don’t have enough wages reported as an employee during the last 18 months to establish a regular UI claim. This could be the case if you are self-employed or an independent contractor. But this could also be the case if you are an employee with insufficient earnings. To qualify for PUA based on insufficient work history, you must have been recently employed, which could be satisfied if you had a bona fide offer to start working on a specific date but were unable to start as a direct result of a COVID-19 related reason;

You have collected all unemployment benefits for which you were eligible and remain unemployed or partially unemployed as a direct result of a COVID-19 reason. This means that you were qualified for regular UI but have exhausted those benefits, as well as any extended benefits.

2. What are the COVID-19 related reasons for being out of work under the PUA program?

COVID-19 related reasons for being out of work include the following:

You have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and are seeking a medical diagnosis.
You are unable to work because a health care provider advised you to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
A member of your household has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
You are providing care for a family member or a member of your household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
A child or other person in the household for whom you have primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility that is closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 and the school or facility care is required for you to work.
You became the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID-19.
You have to quit your job as a direct result of COVID-19.
Your place of employment is closed as a direct result of COVID-19.
You were scheduled to start a job that is now unavailable as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
You are unable to reach the place of employment as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
If you work as an independent contractor with reportable income, you may also qualify for PUA benefits if you are unemployed, partially employed, or unable or unavailable to work because the COVID-19 public health emergency has severely limited your ability to continue performing your customary work activities, and has thereby forced you to stop working.

3. How do I apply for PUA benefits? You can file a PUA claim through UI Online, just as you would for regular unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The EDD will begin accepting on-line applications from new applicants on Tuesday, April 28.4. How much would I receive in PUA benefits?

In order to provide benefits as quickly as possible, payments will be issued in phases. If you qualify for PUA the initial payments you will receive are as follows:

$167.00 per week, for each week from February 2, 2020 to March 28, 2020 that you were unemployed due to a COVID-19 related reason.

AND

$167.00 plus $600 per week, for each week from March 29, 2020 to July 25, 2020, that you are unemployed due to a COVID-19 related reason.

AND

$167.00 per week, for each week from July 26, 2020 to December 26, 2020, that you are unemployed due to a COVID-19 related reason, up to a total of 39 weeks (minus any weeks of regular UI and certain extended UI benefits that you have received).

If you qualify for your claim to be backdated to an earlier PUA effective date based on your last day of work, you could receive payment for prior weeks you were unemployed due to COVID-19. You will be required to provide the EDD eligibility information every two weeks. This is known as certifying for benefits.

After these initial payments, depending on your prior earnings, your weekly amount of $167.00 per week may be increased. You will have an opportunity to certify your prior income on your PUA application. The EDD is working to establish efficient procedures to determine if an increase to the weekly PUA amount will be appropriate after an individual receives the initial weekly amount. In addition to applying to future benefits, any increase from the $167 amount also applies retroactively. This means that you may also receive payment to make up the difference you should have been paid if your benefits had initially been based on the increased amount. You will be notified of any increase that you are entitled to receive.

5. How soon could I receive PUA benefits?

If approved and after certifying, you may be able to receive your first PUA payment within approximately 2 days if you have an existing EDD debit card (and there are no issues that require a further review of eligibility), and within 4 to 7 days when new debit cards and checks are mailed.

6. What if I believe I have been misclassified as an independent contractor, and I want to file a regular unemployment insurance (UI) claim, and not a PUA claim?

You can file a claim for regular UI benefits through UI Online. If you believe you were misclassified as an independent contractor and you actually earned wages as an employee, then you will have the option to list your employer and proceed with a regular UI claim. In order to determine eligibility for UI benefits, the EDD will conduct a wage investigation.

SEE RELATED VIDEO: Jake Mangas of the Redding Chamber of Commerce joins 1st District Assemblywoman Megan Dahle to discuss the many pressing needs and resources available to small businesses, business owners, and employees during the ongoing COVID-19 related public health crisis.

If you are an employee but you do not have sufficient earnings within the past 18 months to establish eligibility for regular unemployment insurance, then you may have the option to apply for PUA.

For more information and instructions on how to apply for PUA assistance, visit www.Labor.ca.gov.

This article sponsored by:

For more information, contact Bill Tyler at Century 21 Full Realty Service.

For more information about Junior’s Westside Auto Sales visit them on Facebook or online.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.