What you need to know: California Community College part-time faculty are eligible for unemployment benefits in between semesters after teaching assignment and during summer session.

When to apply: Apply as soon as your teaching assignment has ended, as you will receive benefits only from the date that you apply. It can take up to 10 days to process claims.

Where to apply: 

• • By phone: 1-800-300-5616

  • Online: http://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/

What you need to apply:

1. Your last employer's information (regardless of the length of time you worked for the employer) including name, address (mailing and physical location) and telephone number (including area code)

2. Your last date worked and the reason you are no longer working.

3. Your gross earnings in the last week that you worked, beginning with Sunday and ending with your last day of work.

4. Information on all employers during the past 18 months, including names, addresses (mailing and physical location), periods of employment, gross wages earned, hours worked per week, and hourly rate of pay.

5. Your driver’s license or ID card number.

6. Your citizenship status (which may include your alien registration number).

• If you have other employment for which you receive more than $450 per week it is likely your claim will be denied.

• If you will have a summer or intersession assignment and you will receive more than $450 per week it is likely your claim will be denied. However, you can and should apply for the period between the date of your last class meeting and the date of your first class meeting in the summer/intersession. It also does not hurt to apply even if you will have a summer or intersession assignment, not only to cover the period between classes ending and starting, but to keep your claim active in case you do not go over the earnings limit during your assignment (e.g. you are only teaching one class).

• If you have a full-time contract assignment in the college district or another school district that you will be returning to in the next semester your claim will be denied.

• If you are receiving a pension, you may be denied, depending on the amount and the source of the pension.

• College faculty are eligible to apply for unemployment insurance during the winter break. However, continuing education faculty are not eligible to apply during the winter break since it is a recess of the fall semester, and the continuing education semester has not officially concluded. All faculty are eligible to apply during the summer.

• PLEASE NOTE: Adjuncts who are immigrants, the Trump administration created a “public charge rule” that can negatively impact immigration applications and status. So far, unemployment benefits do not fall into the “public charge rule” category because one earns unemployment benefits through work.

• The California affiliate of the AFT has put together valuable resources for Unemployment applications including a step-by-step guide for adjunct faculty

  • https://www.cft.org/post/unemployment-underemployment

• Earnings worksheets are an invaluable resource when filing out your applications. 

• Our brothers and sisters at Cabrillo Community College have created a resource to guide you with your unemployment applications: 

1. 1. 1. How to file for unemployment:

http://contingentworld.com/unemployment/unemployment_overview.php 

1. 1. 2. Earnings Worksheet:

http://contingentworld.com/unemployment/earningsworksheet.php  

1. 1. 3. Earnings Worksheet 2 for filing a new claim: 

http://contingentworld.com/pdfs/EarningsWorksheet2.pdf 

1. 1. 4. Please remember that when asked, you answer that you do not have a guarantee of future work because your classes can be cancelled up through the first two weeks of the upcoming semester. 

      5. Finally, we have put together a step-by-step guide for you based on the CFT data. We have added our Union information which you will need to answer the questions on your application. 

For more information please contact our Membership Officer at nlopez11cc@gmail.com