Form DE 2320, For Your Benefit: California’s Programs for the Unemployed

DE 2320, For Your Benefit: California’s Programs for the Unemployed, is the Employment Development Department (EDD) publication that describes EDD programs for unemployed Californians: Unemployment Insurance (UI), State Disability Insurance (SDI), which includes Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL), and Workforce Services.

The booklet states that it is for general information only and is not a legal document. The edition on this page is Rev. 67 (1-24), a cover plus 22 pages. It covers, among other topics:

• who should file a UI claim, what you need to apply, the types of claims, how to apply and how to certify for benefits;
• base periods, minimum earnings, how the weekly benefit amount is calculated, and a benefit table;
• reporting earnings, tax requirements, appeals, canceling a claim and workers who are not covered;
• special programs such as California Training Benefits, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Trade Adjustment Assistance, Work Sharing and Partial Claims;
• DI and PFL filing windows, Workforce Services such as the America’s Job Center of California (AJCC) and CalJOBS, and EDD phone numbers.

EDD’s forms page says employers are required to give this document to workers who are unemployed or facing unemployment. EDD publishes it in English and in Armenian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese (for example DE 2320/S for Spanish). It is different from DE 2320M, the shorter publication on filing claims and payment information, and it does not replace the claim forms themselves, such as the Unemployment Insurance Application (DE 1101I) or the Continued Claim (DE 4581).

Workers who are unemployed or facing unemployment in California are the main audience: EDD says employers must give them this publication. You can read it to learn whether you may apply for UI, DI or PFL and which EDD services you can use.

To be eligible for UI, the publication says you must have earned enough wages in the base period and be totally or partially unemployed, out of work through no fault of your own, physically able to work, available for work, ready and willing to accept work immediately, and actively looking for work.

Other groups it addresses:

• Workers who cannot work because of a non-work-related illness, injury or pregnancy (DI), or who need time off to care for a seriously ill family member, bond with a new child or help with a qualifying military event (PFL).
• Employers interested in Work Sharing or Partial Claims.
• Railroad workers, who the publication says claim under the U.S. Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act through the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board.

Groups not normally covered by UI include elected officials, the self-employed (unless in elective coverage), certain students employed by their school, parents and children employed by each other, spouses employed by each other, caddies and jockeys. If you are unsure, the publication tells you not to waive your rights and to contact EDD.

DE 2320 is a reference publication, so it has no filing deadline of its own; you read it when you become unemployed, have your hours reduced, or need disability or family leave. The deadlines it describes belong to the programs:

• UI: apply as soon as you are unemployed or your hours are reduced. The claim begins on the Sunday of the week you apply, and a one-week unpaid waiting period applies. Certify for benefits every two weeks.
• DI: submit the claim no earlier than 9 days after the first day your disability begins, and no later than 49 days after it begins, or you may lose benefits.
• PFL: submit the claim no earlier than the first day your family leave begins and no later than 41 days after it begins, or you may lose benefits.
• Appeal: mail the Appeal Form (DE 1000M) within 30 calendar days of the mailing date of the Notice of Determination (DE 1080CZ); after that you must show good cause.

DE 2320 is not filed with EDD; it explains how to apply for the programs it describes. You can view, print or order it at Online Forms and Publications (forms.edd.ca.gov/forms). The channels it lists for a UI claim are:

• UI Online: go to edd.ca.gov/UI_Online. The publication calls it the fastest way to apply and to certify, and certifying requires a myEDD account and a one-time UI Online registration.
• Phone: speak to an EDD representative Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Time), except state holidays. The English UI line is 1-800-300-5616; other languages and TTY numbers are on page 20.
• Fax or mail: if UI Online tells you to, complete the paper Unemployment Insurance Application (DE 1101I) and send it to the fax number or address printed on that form. Fax is faster; mail takes longer.
• Certifying: UI Online, EDD Tele-Cert at 1-866-333-4606 (option 2, PIN required), or the Continued Claim (DE 4581) by mail.

DI and PFL claims are filed through SDI Online (edd.ca.gov/en/Disability/SDI_Online) for faster processing. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.