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FED-ED Extension

Federal-State Extended Duration (FED-ED) benefits are no longer payable after September 11, 2021. The federal government does not allow benefit payments to be made for weeks of unemployment after this program ends, even if you have a balance left on your claim.

Note: Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) ended September 4. If you were receiving PEUC benefits, you may have been moved to a FED-ED extension, allowing you to collect one more week of benefits if eligible.

The FED-ED extension provided additional weeks of benefits for eligible people who exhausted regular unemployment or other extension benefits between May 10, 2020, and September 11, 2021. Any pending payments for weeks of unemployment during this time will be processed retroactively if you are found eligible and did not receive conditional payments. You will be notified about what to expect.

You may have been eligible for FED-ED benefits if you were unemployed and you:

  • Had a regular unemployment claim that started on or after May 19, 2019.
  • Used all benefits on your unemployment claim and the PEUC extension, or your claim had expired.
  • Did not qualify for a new unemployment claim in California or any other state.
  • Met eligibility requirements and were not disqualified.
  • Made enough earnings in the base period of your regular unemployment claim.

We identified those who collected all of their PEUC extension benefits and, if they were eligible, filed a FED-ED extension for them. We mailed you a Notice of Determination for Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits (FED-ED Extension) (DE 6330FED-E). This notice included the effective date of the extension, eligibility requirements, and your potential benefit amounts. You were required to complete the usual bi-weekly certifications to determine eligibility for any payments during FED-ED’s window of availability.

If You Were Not Eligible

If we reviewed your claim and you were not eligible for FED-ED, we mailed you a Notice of Determination for Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits (FED-ED Extension) (DE 6330FED-D) within five to seven days. This notice explains why you were not eligible and includes information on how to appeal if you do not agree with the determination.

Base Period Earnings

To be eligible for FED-ED, you must have had enough earnings in the base period of your regular unemployment claim. Your total base period earnings must have been more than either of these:

  • 40 times the weekly benefit amount.
  • 1.5 times the earnings in the highest quarter of the base period of your regular UI claim.

For example, you earned $11,800 in the first quarter of the base period and $2,000 each in the second, third, and fourth quarters. The total base period earnings for this claim were $17,800 and a weekly benefit amount of $450. To calculate both options:

  • Weekly benefit amount: $450 x 40 = $18,000
  • Highest quarter earnings: $11,800 x 1.5 = $17,700

This claim qualifies for FED-ED extension because your total base period earnings ($17,800) were more than the highest quarter earnings ($17,700).

For more information about the base period and benefit calculations for regular UI claims, refer to How Unemployment Insurance Benefits Are Computed (PDF).

Benefit Payments

Payments for FED-ED are the same as the weekly benefit amount from your regular unemployment claim. The maximum benefit amount depends on your last regular unemployment claim. Your maximum benefit amount will be the lesser of either:

  • 50% of the maximum benefit amount of your claim.
  • 13 times the weekly benefit amount.

For example, you received a weekly benefit amount of $400 and a maximum benefit amount of $8,800 in your last regular claim and you have collected all of the maximum benefit amount. To calculate the FED-ED maximum benefit amount:

  • Calculation 1: 50% of $8,800 = $4,400
  • Calculation 2: 13 X $400 = $5,200

Your FED-ED maximum benefit amount will be $4,400 because Calculation 1 is the lesser of the two.

Certification

You must continue certifying for benefits to collect on a FED-ED extension. Certifying is answering basic questions every two weeks that tells us you were still unemployed and eligible to continue receiving payments.

The fastest way to certify for benefits is in UI OnlineSM. You can also certify by mail. Unlike regular UI claims, you will not be able to certify for the FED-ED extension using EDD Tele-CertSM.

Additional Resources