Well, here’s why.
You can read it in the second-last paragraph on page three:
” … If you accept full-time work for two weeks or longer, your claim will become inactive and no additional claim forms will be mailed. If you become unemployed again, you must submit a new application for benefits. The easiest way to do so is to submit your application online through EDD’s Website at http://www.edd.ca.gov.”
Many people have had great success with temp-to-hire work, and in fact the general consensus seems to be that it is a good career move if you can do it. But we don’t need to blog about the successes. Nor is this meant as a rant against the California Employment Development Department (EDD). This post may, however, spare someone the nasty shock of accepting full-time work for two weeks and then finding their unemployment insurance (UI) benefits slashed to nearly nothing. Then where do you go? Welfare?
This entry was spurred by a recent conversation I had with a rather cagey temp recruiter, who told me that all I had to do was reapply for UI when the as-yet-to-materialize assignment was over. Technically, that is true, but the way it was presented to me glossed over the fact that my current claim, the one that is based on the highest-quarter earnings at my last job, would be nullified. In my case, the new claim would be based on my earnings while unemployed – resulting in a terrifying reduction in weekly benefits.
I did some online hunting and found some real horror stories blogged by people who went into temp work in the best of faith, many hoping for temp-to-hire positions. Some temps found the promised “long-term” contract cancelled abruptly or did not realize that that they had fallen under the two-week nullification clause, resulting in the need to open a completely new claim. One woman posted that her weekly award dropped to $40. Shocked, I scoured the EDD site until I found the paragraph above.
There are situations in which the EDD expects a laid-off worker to accept temp offers. Below, you will find EDD site links that delineate when you must accept work and when you may be excused according to California law. You must check your individual state’s laws regarding temp work. Take a look at these links on the CA EDD Web site regarding what they consider “suitable work”:
On a personal note, I find that the EDD really is committed to helping people find suitable work. They also seem to be particularly helpful and touchingly grateful to job-seekers who are simply nice to them. After all, most laid-off workers are both frightened and furious, and it’s easy to take it out on the counselors. Here is a job tip, if you think you are up for it, about a place that actually is hiring: the California Employment Development Department.
“Here’s Why” would like to hear stories from temps and job-hunters, and we would very much like to hear the word from authoritative legal sources. Please post your comments below, and stay tuned for an upcoming live chat during which we will share job-hunt tips, advice on how to keep up your spirits, and how temping has worked for you. No whining, though. We mean it.
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Related: Senators Kerry, Reed move to stop benefits penalties for temp work
Here's Why. 