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Nearly 2,000 Federal Workers Have Applied For California Unemployment Benefits

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Nearly 2,000 federal employees have filed for California unemployment benefits since the partial government shutdown began December 22.

According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), 1,813 federal workers in the state have filed new claims from December 22-January 5. Those employees will qualify for weekly benefits ranging from $40-$450 depending on their earnings. They can get the benefits for up to 26, after a one-week unpaid waiting period. Those who qualify must also submit a continued certification and answer questions about their weekly eligibility.

Employees who receive benefits will be required to pay them back once their retroactive pay of the federal government is received. EDD will mail an overpayment notice to employees with repayment information.

While the new claims happened during the government shutdown, the EDD cannot determine how many of those federal employees applied for benefits as a direct result of the shutdown.

The EDD said there are approximately 245,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal federal workers in California, according to job estimates from November 2018.

Federal workers who are interested in filing an unemployment claim can go to the EDD website and apply using the Unemployment Insurance Application (Federal Employee).

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