Starting Fed-Ed in California. Not Sure Which Benefit Year Will Be Used...

I got my last check for Tier 4 last week, and expect to be starting on Fed-Ed soon (already received a letter telling me that my extension will be filed for me, if I am eligible). Not sure what benefit year they will be using though, and have not been able to find the answer on the CA EDD website.

I deferred collecting on my second benefit year (new claim), which ends at the end of November, and have continued getting the same weekly benefit amount I got on my initial claim.

I keep thinking that I will be not be collecting Fed-Ed on my initial claim, which will be a huge bummer, because benefits on my new deferred claim will only be $50.00 a week!

Am I correct? Do you collect on the new deferred claim when you go onto Fed-Ed in California, or can you collect on your initial claim? I think I read somewhere that it is up to the individual states to decide which benefit year to use to pay the last 20 weeks of extended benefits.

Is anyone here on Fed-Ed in California who had a deferred new claim? Which benefit year did they use?

I found this on another site-it may be of help to you
http://www.city-data.com/forum/unemployment/1147784-just-how-many-99ers-there-conservative-2.html

"Also, multiple claims in CA have been discussed at length on various threads with claimants collecting 79 weeks on 1st and 2nd claims each, with a not particularly lengthy period of work intervening.

UI requires claimants exhaust any unused tier benefits from prior claim before resuming tiers on first claim.

*Order of benefits paid when there is more than one EUC claim:

Claim 1 - 26 weeks
Claim 1 - Tier benefits until 2nd claim established
Claim 2 - 26 weeks state benefits
Claim 1 - Tiers until exhausted
Claim 1 - EB - not available b/c of 2nd claim
Claim 2 - Tiers until exhausted
Claim 2 - EB
However, it appears EB is only paid once - on the most recent claim, per post on thread linked above.
*Further qualification to tier payment order. HR4213 allows the claimant to continue collecting the higher tier benefit on a prior claim when the establishment of a subsequent claim after July 22, 2010 would result in reduced state benefits of $100 or 25%. The above order of payment could be changed to pay all of Claim 1 first IF the state has implemented HR4213. CA, in particular, has refused to do this, unless forced to with great effort put forth by the claimant. Again, there are numerous threads on this board on the

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/unemployment/1147784-just-how-many-99ers-there-conservative-2.html#ixzz1ayprXmFa

Thanks Gail.

I read this particular thread several months ago, in preparation for the possibility of ending up on Fed-ED, but didn't find anything specifically pertaining to Fed-ED. I have read what seem like hundreds of posts and threads on several sites, and the issue is still confusing people, including me.

I was thinking that my benefit amount would drop when I got on Fed-ED, just based on the fact that I wasn't finding any concrete answers, or anything that specifically addressed the EUC Fix and Fed-ED. I got my first check on Fed-ED this week, and my benefit has been greatly reduced. In fact, it has been reduced so much that I don't think I am going to bother to continue collecting on Fed-ED. The amount I am now getting merely subsidizes my gas costs. That's something, which is better than nothing, but I'm tired of jumping through hoops for crumbs, and now I'm getting even fewer crumbs!

CA EDD says that Fed-ED is based on my initial claim, and that I am now collecting on my current claim, which was deferred. I'm not sure I understand what that means, especially since I am not getting the same amount of money on Fed-ED that I was getting on my initial claim. I am waiting to hear back from them with an answer about that.

Keep pushing them and ask for a hearing if you disagree with their findings. No one here can really answer these questions for you LRS, we don't have access to all the information necessary about your claim and can only check their data bases with blanket information. It would be misleading to answer in specific terms, which I am sure you can understand. That being said, if you strongly disagree with their findings request a hearing.

Thanks MaryKay.

While I understand that all cases are individual, I initially posted this thread because I wanted to get an idea of what people in California were seeing happen once they started on Fed-ED, especially those with Deferred New Claims.

I am waiting to hear from the EDD about why they based my Fed-ED on my initial claim, but moved me onto my Deferred New Claim, and are paying me the lower benefit I would have received if the EUC Fix had not applied to my initial claim. In the meantime, I wanted to see if anyone else from California has had this happen, and how they handled it.

If the EUC Fix truly does not apply to Fed-ED, I can accept that, choose to not continue on Fed-ED, and move on. I'm really not interested in "doing battle" with the EDD. I don't want, or need the additional stress!

Well, I got a response to my request for clarification about the Fed-Ed extension from the CA EDD. Unfortunately, it was essentially a non-response, and advice to go to their website for my answer, which I had done prior to initially contacting them, and again, before asking them for clarification of their confusing answer.

My confusion is about why Fed-ED is based on my initial claim, but paid at the rate of my Deferred New Claim. I understand why I am now on, and collecting significantly less on my Deferred New Claim - I exhausted Tiers 1-4. Got it! What I do not understand is why Fed-ED is paid at the rate of the Deferred New Claim, instead of the initial claim that it is based on. That is not making sense to me, and apparently the CA EDD does not have to clarify that to claimants.

The only thing that I can figure, is that the EUC Fix does NOT apply to Fed-ED, either because that is just how it works, or because California chooses not to apply the EUC Fix.

At this point, it doesn't really matter. The benefit year for the Deferred New Claim I am now on expires in a few weeks, and I will not be attempting to open a new claim. The $50.00 per week is not worth the hassle! Hopefully, I will be able to get a seasonal job for the holidays. At least I will make more than $50.00 a week!

I had 2 claims 1 from '07 and 1 from 2011. I exhausted the 26 weeks from my '11 claim and they went back to Tiers 3 and 4 from my '07 claim after that. Instead of going to Fed-Ed on my '07 claim(higher rate) they put me on Tier 1 of my '11 claim as they told me they have to use your most recent claim for Fed ED. Since I hadn't used any extensions on my '11 claim they sent me to Tier 1 on that claim which will be gone soon unless Congress passed the extension in the Jobs Bill..

I know it's confusing, but the bottom line is they will use your most current claim for Fed-ED........They told me I need to apply for a new claim, and since I haven't worked I will be denied on my new claim and continue on extensions until they are used up on my '11 claim as long as Congress does something by the end of the year....

Thanks for the feedback, Sammy.