Unemployment Insurance

Federal Program Administered Through States

Unemployment insurance is a federal wage replacement program administered through the Employment Development Department (EDD) in California. The program is financed by unemployment tax contributions from employers.

Employee Eligibility

Upon termination of employment, a former employee with any appreciable time in the workforce will generally be entitled to unemployment benefits. Under California law, there are two major exceptions: 1) if the employee voluntarily quit the job, thereby voluntarily removing him or herself from the workforce or 2) if the employee was involuntarily terminated due to “misconduct.”

“Misconduct” is defined on a case-by-case basis, but generally can be defined as willful or wanton conduct demonstrating a disregard for the employer’s interests. Some examples include:

• Deliberate violations of reasonable employer work rules,
• Disregard of standards that an employer has the right to expect of its employees, or
• Carelessness or negligence of such a degree or reoccurrence to amount to deliberate or willful conduct.

Administrative Process

In California unemployment insurance is handled through a two step process. First, the employee files an unemployment insurance claim with the EDD. The EDD conducts a cursory investigation, usually based on forms filled out by the employee and employer, and sometimes a telephone call to the employer. The EDD then sends out a notice of determination with either a thumbs up or thumbs down to the employee, with notice to the employer.

Either the employee or employer may appeal the EDD’s decision. The time frame for an appeal is extremely and unusually short. An administrative hearing is then held before an administrative law judge of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board where evidence is taken through live witness testimony and presentation of documents.

The decision of the CUIAB can be appealed to the California Superior Court, again with an extremely and unusually short deadline.

Contact Us

For a consultation with a California employment lawyer at Vision Law Corporation®, call 916-780-1920, or contact us online.