Eligibility: Part 1
Earnings (Monetary Eligibility)
ADVERTISEMENT
Anyone may file a claim for unemployment benefits in California. However, not all those who apply will be eligible. In order to be eligible you must first have enough work and earnings to establish a claim (what's known as Monetary Eligibility). The earnings may be from work in California only, in California and another state(s), or from work with the federal government or U.S. military service in any state. If in doubt, file the claim and let the Employment Development Department (EDD) make the decision. If you cannot establish a valid California claim the EDD will tell you what your options are for obtaining a valid claim.
The Base Period
California looks at earnings grouped by calendar quarter. A quarter consists of three specific months; January, February, and March form the first quarter of the year, and so on. By law, the EDD can only use the four quarters that ended before the last quarter to evaluate earnings. These four quarters are called the Base Period of the claim; it is the only period of earnings that can be used to determine current eligibility.
Confused? Here are some tables to guide you:
If you are making a claim in January, February, or March (in red below), then the Base Period is the 4 quarters (12 months) that ended last September 30th (in blue below):
| Year Before Previous | Previous Year | Claim Year | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
| Base Period | Claim Filed | |||||||||||||||||
If you are making a claim in April, May, or June, then the Base Period is the 4 quarters (12 months) that ended last December 30th (in this case, the previous calendar year):
| Previous Year | Claim Year | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
| Base Period | Claim Filed | ||||||||||||||||
If you are making a claim in July, August, or September, then the Base Period is the 4 quarters (12 months) that ended last March 30th:
| Previous Year | Claim Year | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep |
| Base Period | Claim Filed | ||||||||||||||||
If you are making a claim in October, November, or December, then the Base Period is the 4 quarters (12 months) that ended last June 30th:
| Previous Year | Claim Year | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Base Period | Claim Filed | ||||||||||||||||
That's right, the quarter you file and the previous quarter (the months in red and white) do NOT count at all toward the Base Period, no matter how much you earned. Neither does any time before the Base Period, even if you worked for fifty years. Benefits are only based on the Base Period, which is, in turn, determined by the date you file for benefits.
Earnings Requirements for California Unemployment Insurance
You can establish a valid claim in two ways:
- Earn at least $1300 in any one quarter of the Base Period, or
- Earn at least $900 in your highest quarter of earnings during the Base Period plus in the rest of the Base Period earn at least 25% of the highest quarter earnings.
For example, if you earned $1000 in your highest quarter, the claim would only be valid if your total earnings during the other three quarters added up to $250, for a Base Period total of $1,250:
$1000 + (25% x $1000) = $1250 in total Base Period earnings.
So even if you earned $100,000 in your highest quarter, but did not earn at least $25,000 during the rest of the Base Period, you would not be eligible! Or if you only earned $899.99 in each quarter, you will miss it by one penny. That is the law.
The EDD's Determination of Monetary Eligibility
When you file a claim the EDD will send you a printed copy of the determination of monetary eligibility (DE 429z). Check it carefully to determine if your employer(s) reported your earnings correctly. You can always request a recomputation if the information appears incorrect.
The DE 429z will also provide the following information:
The beginning and ending date of the claim - Claims start on Sunday and end 52 weeks later. During this time you may only claim a total amount of money called the Maximum Benefit Amount (MBA). The MBA is never more than 26 weeks of full benefits. If you are unemployed continually until the MBA is paid there will be a minimum period of 6 months without benefits before another new claim can be filed.
Weekly Benefit Amount - Maximum amount payable for each week. This may be reduced if you have worked and had any earnings during a claim week. If you know your high quarter wages you can estimate what the WBA would be. The minimum WBA is $40. The maximum WBA is $450. See this document (starting on page 9) to see how the EDD determines the amount.
Maximum Benefit Amount - Total amount of benefits available on a claim. Normally this would be 26 times your WBA.