Eligibility Requirements

• Federal unemployment benefits are designed to provide financial support for unemployed workers who have been out of work for an extended period of time. Individuals who do not qualify for California extended unemployment benefits may be eligible to receive additional benefits under a separate program; the Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits or FED-ED. Applicants who qualify for an unemployment extension will have their claims processed automatically by the California Employment Development Department or EDD's claim processing center.
  
  

FED-ED Extension

• Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits is a separate unemployment extension program that provides an additional 20 weeks of benefits to eligible applicants. FED-ED benefits are based on California's unemployment rate and will end once the state's rate drops below a specified level. To qualify for FED-ED benefits, applicants must first exhaust all of their extended unemployment benefits. FED-ED benefits will continue to be available as long as California's unemployment rate meets state requirements for providing additional unemployment extension. FED-ED claimants must meet strict criteria such as, documenting work searches and registering at a local unemployment office.
  
  

Maximum Benefits

• Since the 2010 federal legislation to extend unemployment benefits was enacted, no changes have been made to the maximum allowable weeks for receiving extended unemployment benefits. Despite the growing unemployment rate in California, claimants can only receive a total of 99 weeks of benefits. As of May 2011, over 420,000 California residents have exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, according to the California Employment Development Department. Unemployed persons may be eligible to receive other forms of assistance such as health care, counseling and employment training through organizations like the Assistance for Unemployed California Residents.
  
  

Extended Unemployment Benefits

• In addition to the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits, California residents qualify for four tiers of extended benefits and 20 weeks of FED-ED extended benefits. Unemployed workers in California are entitled to 73 weeks of extended benefits in addition to their regular 26 weeks. Tier I extended benefits provides up to 20 weeks of benefits, the second tier of extended benefits provides up to 14 weeks, tier 3 provides 13 weeks of benefits and tier 4 provides six weeks of extended benefits.