On July 8th, 2020, the California EDD will complete the second phase rollout of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation extension, a federal program created by the CARES Act. Under the Coronavirus/COVID-19 PEUC extension, eligible claimants can receive up to thirteen weeks of additional benefits after running out of regular UI benefits, or their claim expires, and they no longer qualify for a subsequent regular claim.
In addition to providing benefits to people normally eligible for California unemployment, the Coronavirus/COVID-19 PEUC extension is also eligible for those who lost employment due to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic and are not eligible for regular state unemployment. This includes self-employed individuals, business owners, independent contractors, people with limited work history, people who have used all their regular UI benefits and extended benefits, and people who are serving false statement penalty weeks on their regular UI claim.
Unless amended, the Coronavirus/COVID-19 PEUC will sunset at the end of the year.
EDD has already started notifying claimants of their potential eligibility for a Coronavirus/COVID-19 PEUC extension.