The Employment Development Department (EDD) is required to listen to all counterclaims if they have information that’s evidence-driven. For whatever reason, your ex-employer may hold a grudge against you or is guilty of wrongdoing that you found-out. They may opt to burden you further by claiming your reason for quitting was due to misconduct.

Some companies will try to avoid paying for unlawful termination lawsuits and even their unemployment insurance to cut corners further. Their strategy may include targeting selected employees for harassment and bullying to drive them to quit. This, unfortunately, can happen to many seasonal and short-term workers.

Three months is the shortest period that you can claim unemployment compensation. These employers will not want to pay for their additional unemployment insurance and find sneaky ways to prevent you from collecting on that insurance benefit. If you quit your job voluntarily, this will not allow you to get benefits from the EDD. Especially if there’s no claim on your behalf, such as documented violence or harassment, that led to you suddenly quitting. Yet if you did quit and were being forced to leave there are steps you can follow to reverse the unemployment claim.

What can you do?

Being denied the ability to claim unemployment makes it difficult to cover basic living expenses. This also can prevent you from using these benefits to look for another job effectively. In the event you feel that your ex-employer is blackballing you, you’ll need to follow these tips:

• Get as many witness statements from those who are willing to tell what happened.

• Gather as much evidence or proof of your claims (mobile phone recordings, pictures, etc.)

• Bring all of these items with you to your EDD hearing

• If you do not win the final verdict, you have the right to appeal your case by a specific time

Unemployment benefit extensions

Luckily in the end, if you do win the appeal and are granted unemployment benefits, there’s added benefit extensions. An additional 20 weeks can be added to your claim if they fall into selected categories.

• If you accept work that pays lower than the amount you were being paid previously

• Accepting work tasks that differ from your skill-set with lower expected pay

• Going to all scheduled EDD re-employment service interviews

Disaster Unemployment Assistance

If your work was affected by a natural disaster, you can claim Disaster Unemployment assistance. The affected area needs to be further listed as such, by FEMA and by the US President. For this claim, you are eligible to collect up to 26 weeks from the date your disaster area was declared.

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In California, the office that handles unemployment benefits is known as the Employment Development Department.

Qualification for Unemployment in California

You should meet three qualification necessities to collect unemployment benefits in California:

1. Your past earnings must meet a minimum threshold

2. You should be unemployed through no mistake of your own, in accordance with California law.

3. You should be capable, available, and looking for work.

Unemployment Benefits

Before we talk about the benefits, it may be noted that you must register yourself for these benefits as soon as you have been laid off by a company. Many people do the mistake of not registering at the unemployment office in the hope of finding a new job soon. Although you may be confident about your abilities, it is a good idea to register yourself soon. What if it takes a while to get a job of your choice? You may not want to compromise on the work profile due to the urgency of a job requirement. To avoid such situations, it is important to seek unemployment benefits.
How To File For Your Unemployment benefits?
In filing unemployment benefits in California, you will be required to give personal and employment information like name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, name and address of previous employer, date of starting and leaving the job, and reason for resigning or being laid off from the job. After sometime of filing the claim, you will receive a letter specifying the benefits you will receive.  Unfortunately, if your claim gets rejected, you will receive a notice stating the reason of denial of unemployment benefits. Receiving a denial letter does not mean you cannot get the claim. In such a case, you should prepare for appeal to persuade the California to pay you the unemployment benefits. Here is a list of benefits that you can expect. It is important to note that you must register yourself of unemployment to be eligible for the benefits.

Temporary Compensation
Until you find a new job, you can expect temporary compensation from the California government. However, you must qualify for this kind of compensation. The value and duration of the unemployment benefit would depend on the California.

The California unemployment law has its own unemployment benefits program. There are some eligibility criteria that you must qualify to avail the benefits. The unemployment benefits are given only if you meet the qualifying criteria.

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Many people who are unemployed may collect unemployment funds in California State. However, not all of them are eligible for the employment benefits. The California’s Employment Development Department has set eligibility requirements for the benefits. To qualify, you must have attained the earnings of a set amount in a specified period and unemployed because of circumstances beyond your control. Moreover, you must be willing to work and actively seeking for a new job.

Unemployment benefits eligibility in California

To qualify for the benefits, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) will use the following criteria:

#1. Past earnings

The EDD will assess your recent earnings before filing for the employment. Your earnings will be evaluated based on a period of 1 year, which comprise of four calendar quarters before the filling of unemployment. In a base period of 1 year, you should have the earnings of not less than $1,300 in highest paid quarter. Alternatively, you must have got the earnings not less than $900 in the highest-paid quarter not less 1.25 times the earnings in the highest-paid quarter in the whole base period.

#2. Reasons for unemployment

In most cases, the people who apply for unemployment funds have been permanently or temporarily laid off by the employer. The employee who was laid off due to company’s downsizing process is eligible for the unemployment benefits. On the other hand, the Department may approve those employees who were fired because they were not competent in the job. However, the employees who were fired due to professional misconduct or breach of contract are not eligible for the unemployment benefits.

Also, an employee who quit the job because of unsafe conditions may collect the benefits. To remain eligible, you must have tried to resolve the issue with the employer and allow time for the problem to be fixed. Moreover, employees who quit the job for health or family reasons are eligible for the unemployment benefits.

#3. Willingness to work

People who apply for the unemployment funds in California must be willing to work and actively seeking for a new job. In this case, you must show the proof that you have been searching for a job. The EDD will ask you to give the information about the companies you have contacted recently as well as their feedback.

Conclusion

If you are unemployed and live in California, you should consider applying for the unemployment benefits. The California’s Employment Development Department has set the eligibility requirements for people who wish to collect the benefits.

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Have you ever tried unemployment application process? This is a process you will have to try if you have been rendered unemployed. There are several benefits you will access after you successfully apply for the unemployment benefits. First, you should be fit to work and willing to work again for you to access the benefits. They are put in place as way of trying to assist those who are within the working age but are unable to secure employment. The bureau will assess your application and determine whether you qualify for the benefits. Due to different reasons you may fail to access the benefits. You can as well file for an appeal for your application to be assessed once more. You need to do enough research and know the right information you need to fill so that your application will be successful.

Steps in your unemployment application process

Gather Information

Different states will require you to provide different types of information. In order to provide the right information, you need to check on the forms. If you are applying for the benefits online, then you will be asked to provide the following information:

Identifying information

You will have to provide your personal identification details. For example, you will have to provide your phone number, your name, address, social security number and names you have sued in your previous employment. You can as well have to list your state driver’s license number as well as your identification number. Ensure you fill all the details required.

Work history

The form will have a section where you will provide all details about your former employment and the amount you were earning. If you have secured any form of employment in the last one and half years, you will have to provide details about such form of employment.

Reason for unemployment

There are some reasons which lead you to becoming unemployed. In order to access the unemployment benefits, you should remember to provide the reason for your state in the unemployment application process. If you were fired or just quit, you will be required to attend a hearing where they will decide whether you are eligible for the benefits.

File Your Application

After providing all the details required on the form, you will have to file your application. Different states will have different forms of filling. There are others which you will have to send your application via mail while others you will just fill an online application form. In some cases you can contact the office via phone call.

Claim Your Benefits

If your claim will be accepted, you will be allowed to file for a claim each week or after two weeks according to your state.

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