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California Unemployment Benefit Extension – Another 20 Weeks

California currently has an unemployment rate of 12.5% which is one of the highest in the country. Given that it is the most populous state it also stands to reason that California has the highest number of unemployed people living there.

Like every other state, Californians have benefitted from the numerous unemployment benefit extensions that have been created by the federal government. The latest extension provided by bill H3548 will give long-term unemployed Californians an extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefits.

Because of this recent extension the maximum number of benefit weeks available for someone in California is now 99 weeks.

California unemployment benefits are as follows:

  • EUC Tier 1 – 20 weeks  (7 weeks plus 13 weeks)
  • EUC tier 2 – 14 weeks (used to be 13)
  • EB  – 20 weeks
  • EUC tier 3 (new with bill H3548) 13 weeks or 19 weeks (if unemployment rate is greater than 8.5%)

However the extra 20 weeks is divided into 3 parts. 1 week is added to Tier II EUC. 13 weeks are Tier 3 and 6 weeks are Tier 4. Since the latest extensions are set to expire on Dec 31, 2009 it will be virtually impossible for anybody to receive the last 6 weeks.

“How many of those 20 additional weeks you get depends on when you started your claim and the upcoming eligibility deadlines,” says Loree Levy, a spokesman for the California Employment Development Department. Under the deadlines as they now stand, it’s unlikely that anyone in California would get the final six weeks, she says.

It is very possible that Congress will revisit this issue before the end of the year and extend the expiry date so that the full extensions can be utilized.

There are currently thousands of people who have run out of benefits or will run out in the coming months:

Loree Levy, spokesperson for California’s Employment Development Department, said Monday that an estimated 92,000 residents had exhausted all of their available unemployment by the end of October, and roughly 285,000 will be eligible for the newly enacted benefits by the end of the year. Whether they can get 20 weeks or only 14, though, depends on whether Congress extends the filing deadline.


25 replies on “California Unemployment Benefit Extension – Another 20 Weeks”

my unemployment stopped on jan 2,2110 what happens to me and my family will i be able to get an extention .

EVERYONE Go to http://tinyurl.com/y9dwtzt VOTE on how long unemployment benefits should be extended. This is on MSNBC?s website which is good that we are getting the attention but so far there?s 7000 voters and so far Indefinitely is leading by a few % pts so lets show MSNBC there?s THOUSANDS & THOUSANDS of us.

Phone Campaign to Begin on Monday 3/15? PLEASE JOIN US!!!

MONDAY
Senator Harry Reid: Phone= (202) 224-3542
Senator Jean Shaheen: Phone= (202) 224-2841

TUESDAY
Senator Richard Durbin: Phone= (202) 224-2152
Senator Max Baucus: Phone= (202) 224-2651

WEDNESDAY
Senator Debbie Stabenow: Phone= (202) 224-4822
Senator Sherrod Brown: Phone= (202) 224-2315

THURSDAY
Senator Robert Casey: Phone= (202) 224-6324
Senator Chris Dodd: Phone= (202) 224-2823

FRIDAY
Senator Al Franken: Phone= (202) 224-5641
Senator Arlen Specter: Phone= (202) 224-4254

House in Session today let?s make them calls to amend, hr

4213 for tier V.And send them faxes all weekend.

So 877-762-8762 is the toll-free number at the Capitol Hill

Switchboard, 202-224-3121
202-225-3121

The 99ers need a Tier V added to Unemployment Benefits
The President of the United States, The U.S. Senate, The U.S. House,

The U.S. Senate, The U.S. House, Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ), Sen.

Dick Durbin (IL), Sen. Mitch McConnell (KY), Sen. Harry

Reid (NV), Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY), Rep. Nancy Pelosi

(CA-08), Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-05) and Rep. Jim

McDermott (WA-07)

Senators and Representatives:

HOUSE STILL IN SESSIONMarch 20, 2010, 5:43pm (report abuse)
MAKE YOUR CALLS WE HAVE TO BE HEARD NO TIME TO WASTE.

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
LEGISLATIVE DAY OF MARCH 20, 2010
111TH CONGRESS – SECOND SESSION

H. Res. 925:
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the meritorious service performed by aviators in the United States Armed Forces who were shot down over, or otherwise forced to land in, hostile territory yet evaded enemy capture or were captured but subsequently escaped

5:34 P.M. –
DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 925.

Good Morning,

I normally post on the Tennessee forum but have the same problems as other long term unemployed in the nation. Exhaustion of Tier 4 benefits. I really believe it is important to get our message out to the media in an effort for us to receive assistance during this period. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, is going to have a segment tonight regarding unemployment. More importantly she has a blog from which input to the segment is retrieved. We really need our issue to come to light. You may or may not like MSNBC… that is your choice. However our problem extends beyond party or ideological barriers. We need to take care of our families.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/04/02/4104835-the-challenge-for-obama-more-jobs-same-old-unemployment

As I am a 99’er, I follow the stories and posts on various sites each day about what congress is doing about additional weeks on tier IV, or a tier V for the longest term unemployed. I was glad that they passed the extension for filing on the tier’s that had expired and hoped that they would now consider our plight. However, I was shocked to hear that congress was now going to put immigration reform to the front, ahead of all other issues !!
I also heard this on a cable news program, from Rep. Guiterrez (D) from Illinois, that immigration reform is next. It must be addressed immediately.
This tact offends me, to cast aside people who have been working and paying taxes for many years, in favor of people who are in the country illegally. What else can I say . . . . take care of the immigrants who did not follow the law to get into the USA, or take care of the people who were part of the working class for years, even decades who lost their employment through no fault of their own ????
What do we need to do to get Congress to stand up for the people that they are supposed to be working for ? They don’t seem to be listening to us at this time !!

Good Morning All! The petition is scheduled to be delivered to Congress next Tues, May 18. Per Issa’s request, I’m helping spread the word. World News Vine has offered their assistance in delivering the petition & covering the story. Sen. Reid’s office told Issa that he was looking at adding weeks to tier 4. We need this amendment to be added to HR 4213. This may be our only chance at more weeks. If you can donate $1 or $2 to help fund the printing of the petition, etc, please do so. See Issa’s letter below:

Great news!
WorldNewsVine has come to our rescue! But we have to help. I was encountering a lot of unexpected obstacles trying to organize getting the petition to Congress, and I began to think it wasn’t going to come together. People in Washington were saying they’d ‘get back to me,’ but even if they did, we just didn’t have time for that. Next week is when the ‘unemployment extension of filing deadlines’ is expected to be raised in Congress, and we hope to get weeks added to Tier 4 at that time. Then Congress leaves again the next week. There’s little hope of getting another bill other than that one because they are discussing such big issues before they leave.

WorldNewsVine has offered to run a short campaign to raise some money to send a person on our behalf. This person is known to them, has press credentials and is familiar with the Senate. He will bring the printed petition with 900 pages of signatures. The Senate requires 6 copies which is one of the obstacles I encountered.

Our emissary knows the ins and outs of the Senate and can arrange appointments with key senators. In addition, because he already has clearance, he can enter the Capital and question staffers in other offices, too. In addition to delivering the petition copies, he intends to ask questions on our behalf both in the Capital and in the ‘haunts’ he knows where staffers go after hours. Like I said, he’s familiar with the scene! He has a vested interest in this just like we do as he has also joined the ranks of the unemployed. What he finds out will be written in the WorldNewsVine, and all together, we’ll get a lot of publicity from this!

Now our part. We have to finance his trip. Many of our signers are already familiar with this online news source as they have been the single largest source of signers for us. They have written many articles about the petition and our numbers have taken a big jump every time they have done so. You’ll notice that I’ve given links to many of their articles in the letters I’ve sent out.

Obviously, they know we don’t have much money so they’re only asking for $1, $2, or $5 donations to cover the printing and travel expenses. The drive for him will be about 600 miles each way. He’s not being paid anything for this. I spent a long time on the phone with him today, and I’m more than impressed with his knowledge and commitment, but we couldn’t expect him to fund this himself.

Below is the site that has today’s article and the donate button. The button will be removed as soon as the goal is reached so if it’s still up there please give something. They have set a goal of Monday night, but sometimes you don’t get this letter until Tuesday. So, if the button is still up, they need more donations! If he doesn’t use the whole amount for his expenses, the rest will be donated to the Humane Society which is a special charity of WNV. I believe that for now, this is the best shot we have at getting additional benefits. Together, with our small donations, we’ll raise the amount needed!

http://worldnewsvine.com/2010/05/tier-v-99ers-unemployment-petition-readies-for-washington

Extend Deadline UI Benefits through 2010 05/19 00:00:23

The link below is part of the “Laid Off and Left out:America’s Worker’s Deserve Better Initiative” to urge Congress to extend the filing deadline for unemployment benefits through 2010.

The letter is already written for you. All you have to do is enter your address and click “participate”

The letter reads as follows:

“Extend Filing Deadline Through 2010
To get started, enter your location below and click ‘Participate’

“The latest stop-gap measure of federal extensions (including both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs), the additional $25 per week in everyone’s benefits check, and COBRA subsidies for jobless workers are set to expire on June 2, 2010 for the unemployment programs and May 31, 2010 for COBRA. The House and Senate have been sitting on legislation that could extend these programs through the end of 2010 since March of this year. Time is running out, and the House is set to consider a compromise version of this bill this week. If passed, it will finally extend these programs through the end of the year. We are urging the House of Representatives take immediate action this week and make sure that federal UI and COBRA supplements are not allowed to expire.

I urge anyone who is currently unemployed or knows someone that is to participate in this initiative.

Here is the link:
http://www.nelp.org/page/speakout/BenefitsNOW

Congress: Looks like you’ll, too, be out of a job. Listen to the cries of your people. Where is Barbara Boxer now? She never helped me when I asked her, or anybody else that I know, for that matter. Congress needs to stop this cruelty, and just like other countries like Uganda, you have been providing debt relief since 1997, you need to help your own and provide debt relief so that they are out of survival mode. Please. Unemployment benefits until further notice! No more sitting on the edge of their seats wondering if they will get a check. Don’t add to their grief. There are NO JOBS!!

If you are – or if you know – a 99er (exhausted maximum benefits) in the San Jose area who is suffering without a job or benefits, please contact me and I will put you in touch with this TV journalist.
This is an important story bcause it will reach millions of viewers and be discussed all over the United States the next day.
Please consider doing this for the good of all 99ers! It will not be a live interview, it will be taped, so it is not like “being on the spot”, they can do re-takes etc..

Please help if you can!

If you reply to this message, please put “99er From San Jose” in your email subject line and send it to unemployedactiongroup@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,
Michael White
UWAG President
http://unemployedworkersactiongroup.webs.com/

we need everyone to call Reid, Pelosi and Obama and let them know there VACATION is over now it time to PASS BILL S.3706 Harry Reid 202-224-3542, Pelosi 202-225-0100, Obama 202-456-1111.Also calls made to the following asking them to write up a bill and bring it to the floor to help the 99ers. These people have all

“Outsourcing” is happening right in our own neighborhoods, too. The jobs are not there for us… We are being rejected due to our education, age and experience… but we will never know which one. In very frank words, we are being replaced by cheap labor. In return, businesses are able to make more of a profit. However, there is a consequence…when you hire cheap labor, your business suffers, maybe not at first,, but eventually … These people do not have the work ethic that we do. They live and think differently. These people spit on America and have contempt for Americans. I’ve seen it for myself, when I was working AND I’m seeing it now, too. So, since we are not qualifying for jobs out there… we need to continue our insurance benefits…. Do welfare recipients have to go through this???? I highly doubt it…..Who knows if they ever HAD a job….

TO ALLLLLL THE UNEMPLOYED WE HAVE TO GET THIS DONE TOMORROW. Tomorrow 9:00am at Home
We need to have a mass target of CALLS to the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell he must feel the pain and suffering of the 99ers by requesting that an e…xtension of a TIER 5 be added to the tax bill. just 3 hours 99ers ONLY HIM… ONLY HIM for… 3 hours. Office # 202-224-2541 Fax # 202-224-2499 Senate operator # 202-224-3121 The Senate has no 1-800 number….Thank u alll and God Bless u and your family

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