I still don't know if I need to reapply or not -- what should I do?
EDD has said that if you need to reapply - they will send you a notice to do so. It will be through your online account or e-mail. If you do not get a notice and you are still able to certify -- continue to do so. If there is nothing wrong with your claim and you are getting paid out, there's nothing to be concerned for.
IF YOU ARE PUA -- you're lucky and this is easy for you. You simply do nothing - they will extend it when they implement and it will change to say 9/6/21 instead of 4/10/21. Just wait for it. There's no need to apply for a claim (unless you made wages). If you did not make ANYTHING last year... you just stay on PUA.
The Department of Labor guidance came out and there was not too much strayed away from the article we recently put out:
The Department of Labor guidance notes that before it took 6 weeks to implement all these new programs and they expect the same timeline for state departments to get it together, which means they won't be able to implement until towards the end of April 2021.
How do I know what program I am on?
Go to your claim history on UI Online
Hit "transactions" next to the week that you want to know if it was regular UI, PEUC, or PUA
Under "Program Type" it will tell you what program that PARTICULAR week was under. So you will have to click through each week to find out which week paid out with what program (If you're curious about what your currently on, click the most recent transaction)
I've started FED-ED, but with this new PEUC extension do I go back to PEUC?
If you previously exhausted PEUC and started on FED-ED, you must finish your FED-ED before being eligible for the additional weeks of PEUC that is under the Continued Assistance Act or American Rescue Plan.
Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC)
The American Rescue Plan has no amendments to the MEUC except extending it until September 6, 2021. EDD still has not implemented anything as of today.
MEUC provides a federally funded $100/week additional benefit who have at least $5,000 a year in self-employment income, but disqualified from receiving PUA because they are eligible for regular state benefits. This will be in addition to the $300/week from FPUC. So your additional federal benefit will be $400 instead of $300.
How will they verify this? No news on that yet, but subscribe for updates.
Certification
I was offered work and I refused it -- does that completely disqualify me?
When answering YES to refusing work, it will trigger EDD to give you a call to check whether or not you refusing work was considered "good cause". What that means is whether or not your reason is good enough to have refused work. For example, if you refused work because you felt unsafe, but your employer has provided all PPE for you -- that is not considered good cause.
Taxes
I heard that some of my unemployment will not be taxed. I already filed taxes, do I need to amend my taxes??
NO. This is what the IRS has on their website:
When I do report my unemployment for filing taxes, is there guidance?
IRS website provides guidance here: https://www.irs.gov/faqs/irs-procedures/forms-publications/new-exclusion-of-up-to-10200-of-unemployment-compensation
Resources:
Resources from EDD Newsletter
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Additional Tools & Resources
Direct Unemployment Guru Help
We are servicing people who have claims that have been stuck for many months. If you have questions you can ask in our forum which we check periodically.
We are also HIRING more Unemployment Gurus to help us meet the demand. So many people are still owed benefits since March! It's still a shock to us each time we hear it. Help us help people get their benefits that are rightly owed to them. See our careers page.
Tools & Calculators
Unemployment Gurus has tools and calculators to figure out those really confusing questions:
How much can I earn and still qualify for the FPUC $300 from the new stimulus?
Do I qualify for FED-ED?
How much will I get if I work?
What is my standard base period?
Do I qualify for LWA?
Am I eligible for UI?
Preview tools here
