Unfortunately, millions of American workers have found themselves unemployed as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployed workers often rely on unemployment insurance benefits for financial assistance in between jobs.
Fortunately, unemployment compensation was created by the United States for all states to administer the joint federal and state program. Even a federal boost to unemployment insurance benefits, such as the additional $600 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and effective from April 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, gets administered by each state.
Accordingly, the first step to getting all unemployment insurance benefits in the United States, regardless of whether unemployment was caused by COVID-19, would be for eligible workers to apply to the state agency which administers the program in their state. Careeronestop.org has links for each state’s unemployment insurance program which explain how to apply in each respective state. In California, workers can apply for unemployment insurance benefits with the Employment Development Department at edd.ca.gov/unemployment/.