By: Mari Bandoma Callado
Employment Development Department (EDD) Benefits
| EDD Program |
Unemployment Insurance (UI) |
State Disability Insurance (SDI) |
Paid Family Leave (PFL) |
Apply for this program if |
You lost your job or have had your hours reduced for reasons related to COVID-19 | You’re unable to work due to medical quarantine or illness related to COVID-19 (certified by a medical professional) | You’re unable to work because you are caring for an ill or quarantined family member with COVID-19 (certified by a medical professional) |
Program Background |
Program provides temporary and partial wage replacement for workers transitioning between jobs. Its weekly payments are designed to meet living expenses and allow the unemployed a short breathing space to find another job. | Provides partial wage replacement to workers who are temporarily unable to work because of illness, injury, or disability.SDI is designed to protect people with disabilities from losing wages when they are unable to perform their regular or customary work because of illness, injury, or mental or physical disability | Provides up to six weeks of partial wage replacement benefits for employees who take time off work for reasons including but not limited to: to care for a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or parent-in-law who experiences a serious health condition. |
Immigration Status |
Must have work authorization | Unlike UI, undocumented workers are eligible for SDI. | All employees currently covered by SDI (including new or probationary employees) in California qualify for benefits under PFL. |
Past Earnings Requirement (base period) |
Generally,, the “base period” is the 12 months that ended between four and six months before the claimant filed for UI. | Same as UI | Same as SDI |
Sufficient Earnings Requirement |
Applicant must be (1) paid at least $1,300 during at least one of those four quarters of the base period, or (2) paid at least $900 in one of the four quarters of the base period and have gross earnings for the entire base period at least equal to 1.25 times her earnings for the highest quarter. | In order to be eligible for SDI, a claimant must have earned at least $300 during a 12-month “base period” prior to the claim date | Same as SDI |
Covered Employment |
Covered employment includes most services performed as an employee for any form of wages. However, there are certain categories of workers who are excluded because their employers are not required to pay into a reserve account on their behalf.Note that there are some employment that are excluded from being covered by UI.
If an applicant is an independent contractor or self-employed, contact an employment attorney and/or the EDD to determine if the applicant was misclassified and/or eligible for other benefits such as the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. |
Most workers in California are covered by SDI, unless they work in one of the areas of excluded employment, or if they are covered by an employer’s voluntary plan.An employee paid exclusively in cash or by personal check (i.e., “under the table”) during the base period will not have contributed to the SDI program through mandatory payroll deductions, and consequently, will not be eligible to receive SDI benefits | All employees currently covered by State Disability Insurance (SDI) (including new or probationary employees) in California qualify for benefits under Paid Family Leave. This includes all private sector workers and some public sector workers; however, federal employees do not pay into PFL and are therefore not entitled to PFL.
Paid Family Leave also applies to employees working for small employers, unlike the federal and state unpaid leave laws (i.e. FMLA or CFRA), which do not apply to employers with less than 50 employees. |
No-Fault Separation Requirement
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Unemployment benefits are designed to assist workers who became unemployed through no fault of their own – e.g. COVID-19 related layoff or voluntary quit with “good cause” such as caring for minor children.Workers applying for benefits are presumed to have separated from most recent employer through no fault of his own unless employer gives written notice to the contrary with facts sufficient to overcome the presumption. | ||
Reduced Hours and/or temporarily unemployed |
If worker’s hours are reduced or shut down operations, the worker may be eligible for partial wage replacement benefit payments to workers who lose their job or have their hours reduced, through no fault of their own. If the worker is temporarily unemployed due to COVID-19 and expected to return to work with his or her employer within a few weeks, he or she is not required to actively seek work each week. | If work hours must be reduced as the result of a disability and the worker has wage loss due to being unable to perform his or her regular or customary work for at least eight consecutive days, he or she may be eligible to receive DI benefits. | If work hours must be reduced as the result of family care, and the worker has a wage loss due to being unable to perform his or her regular or customary work for at least eight consecutive days, he or she may be eligible to receive DI or PFL benefits. |
Benefits |
Range from $40-$450 per week for up to 26 weeks.Note that the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) provides all regular UI and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (see below) claimants with an additional $600 per week in compensation on top of their usual calculated benefit through July 2020. PUC is a flat amount provided to those on UI or PUA, including those who are receiving a partial unemployment benefit check.
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Approximately 60-70 percent of wages (depending on income); ranges from $50-$1,300 a week for up to 52 weeks. | Approximately 60-70 percent of wages (depending on income); ranges from $50-$1,300 a week for up to 6 weeks. |
How to apply |
More information about UIHow to file | More information about SDIHow to file | More information about PFLHow to file |
CARES Act: PUA, PUC and PEUC
| CARES Act |
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) |
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| Program Background | Provides emergency unemployment assistance to workers who are left out of regular state unemployment insurance (UI) or who have exhausted their state UI benefits (including any Extended Benefits that might become available in the future).As part of the federal CARES Act, the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program helps unemployed Californians who are
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| Immigration Status | If you are not a citizen of the United States, you cannot be paid PUA benefits unless you were legally permitted to work in the United States at the time such services were performed. In addition, you must be authorized to work for any week of PUA benefits claimed to be eligible for payments. | ||
| Eligibility | You must also meet one of the following criteria:
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. |
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| When and How to File a claim | The EDD will begin accepting online applications for this program on Tuesday, April 28 | ||
| Benefits | Up to 39 weeks of PUA | ||
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC)
provides all regular UI and PUA claimants with an additional $600 per week in compensation on top of their usual calculated benefit through July 2020. PUC is a flat amount provided to those on UI or PUA, including those who are receiving a partial unemployment benefit check.
- Starting on week ending 4/11 (automatically added to the weekly benefit amount as lon gas it’s $1)
- Retroactive payments for week of 3/29-4/4 will be processed later
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
provides an extra 13 weeks of state UI benefits to the end of the existing number of state UI weeks. This benefit will apply until December 31, 2020, unless otherwise extended.
- Extra 13 weeks cover weeks of unemployment from 2/2 to 12/31
San Francisco Paid Sick Leave & The Coronavirus
Employer Verification of Paid Sick Leave
No doctor’s note or other documentation for the use of paid sick leave taken pursuant to Paid Sick Leave Ordinance during the COVID-19 local health emergency. (Temporary suspension of OLSE Rule 2.3)
Eligibility for Paid Sick Leave
- San Francisco paid sick leave is available to employees.
- Unless separation of employment (e.g. termination, layoff, resignation or retirement – but may be eligible for unemployment benefits)
Employee use of Sick Leave
Employers must allow covered employees to use accrued sick leave in the following situations:
- The employee takes time off work because public health officials or healthcare providers require or recommend an employee isolate or quarantine to prevent the spread of disease;
- The employee takes time off work because the employee falls within the definition of a “vulnerable population” under the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s (DPH) March 6, 2020 guidelines or any subsequent updates. As of March 6, 2020, a “vulnerable population” is a person who is 60 years old or older or a person with a health condition such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or weakened immune system;
- The employee takes time off work because the employee’s business or a work location temporarily ceases operations in response to a public health or other public official’s recommendation – subject to the “Eligibility for Paid Sick Leave” guidelines above;
- The employee takes time off work because the employee needs to provide care for a family member who is not sick but who public health officials or healthcare providers have required or recommended isolate or quarantine; or
- The employee takes time off work because the employee needs to provide care for a family member whose school, child care provider, senior care provider, or work temporarily ceases operations in response to a public health or other public official’s recommendation.
FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act)
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FFCRA |
Details |
| Size of Employer | <500 employees |
| Paid Sick Days | 2 additional weeks of Paid Sick Days to care for employee or sick family member
Job-protected leave |
| Pay | 100% of full rate up to $511 per day and $5,110 in total if employee is sick
12 weeks of paid leave at ⅔ normal pay rate up to $200 per day to care for child not in school/daycare because of COVID-19 |
| Exemption | Employers with fewer than 50 workers exempted if doing so would raise expenses above revenue such that the employer would case operating at a minimal capacity |
| Expansion of FMLA | Eligible if employer has between 50 and 500 employees, employee worked for at least 30 days. You have 12 weeks of job-protected leave if the school or daycare is closed or the childcare provider is unavailable due to public heath emergency. Your child must be less than 18 years old.This is the only qualifying need for Emergency FMLA Note: first 10 days is unpaid but after 10 days, paid ⅔ of regular rate of pay, up to $200 per day, $10,000 in total |
