We are all adjusting to a new normal way of life since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  During this time, Pasadena City College (PCC) faculty and staff who may be experiencing a reduction in working hours or who have not worked since March 19, 2020, may be eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) as well as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) administered by the State Employment Department (EDD).

Pasadena City College District does not make any decisions regarding eligibility for benefits. All decisions are made by EDD.

Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) information for faculty, adjunct faculty and student workers

Tenured/Tenure Track faculty may not be eligible for UI because they have reasonable assurance to return to work at the end of a recess period.

Adjunct faculty may be eligible for UI because they are totally or partially unemployed and must not have had reasonable assurance to return to work. 

Reasonable Assurance and Recess Periods

According to EDD, reasonable assurance is, “written, verbal, or implied agreement that says the school employee will perform services for an educational organization during the next academic year, term or remainder of a term.”

A recess period, according to EDD, is “the period of time between terms, or within terms, when classes are not usually scheduled.” Examples of a PCC recess period would be spring break and/or winter recess.

Student Workers who work only during terms are not eligible for unemployment insurance. Work-study jobs are considered non-permanent jobs.

For more information on unemployment insurance and how to file a claim, please go to 

https://edd.ca.gov/unemployment/

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) information

As part of the federal CARES Act, the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program is to serve those who do not usually qualify for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.

You may also qualify for PUA if you are unable to work or unavailable to work as a result of COVID-19 related reasons AND you must meet one of the following criteria:

• You do not have sufficient work history, which means you do not have enough wages reported as an employee within the last 18 months.
• You have exhausted your regular UI benefits, but remains unemployed because of COVID-19

For the COVID-19 related reasons and how to file a claim under PUA, please go to https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019//pandemic-unemployment-assistance/faqs.htm.

Benefit amounts

EDD defines a week as beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday. Payments and claims are paid every two weeks. If claimant qualifies for PUA, they are required to certify the payment benefit before they start. Once the payment benefit is certified, the payments will be received for up to 39 weeks in 3 phases starting on February 2, 2020 or whenever you became impacted by the pandemic.

Phase 1: $167 per each week you were unemployed from February 2, 2020 to March 28, 2020 due to a COVID-19 related reason

Phase 2: $167 plus $600 per week for each week you were unemployed from March 29, 2020 to July 25, 2020 due to COVID-19 related reason*

Phase 3: $167 per week for each from July 26, 2020 to December 26, 2020, that you are unemployed due to a COVID-19 related reason. This is up to 39 weeks minus any weeks of regular UI and any extended UI that had been received.

*The additional $600 is only available from March 29th – July 25th under PUA. The PUA program has a legislative end date of December 31, 2020, but for Californians, the benefit will end on December 26, 2020.

To receive more information on benefits amounts and any other inquiries, please go to:

https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019/pandemic-unemployment-assitance.htm