Unemployment Insurance:

In the event of separation from employment or a reduction in timebase, California State University faculty and staff may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance (UI) as administered by the State Employment Development Department (EDD).   Information on eligibility and how to file an application for Unemployment Insurance (UI) can be found directly at: https://edd.ca.gov:443/unemployment/. 

The CSU does not make any decisions as to eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits; these decisions are made by EDD.

I.  Additional Unemployment Information for Temporary Faculty Employees: 

To qualify for unemployment insurance, a temporary faculty employee must be totally or partially unemployed and must not have “reasonable assurance” of returning to work with an educational institution following the period without employment.

1. The California Unemployment Code – Section 1253.3 (g) defines “reasonable assurance” as follows:

For purposes of this section, "reasonable assurance" includes, but is not limited to, an offer of employment or assignment made by the educational institution, provided that the offer or assignment is not contingent on enrollment, funding, or program changes. An individual who has been notified that he or she will be replaced and does not have an offer of employment or assignment to perform services for an educational institution is not considered to have reasonable assurance.

2. According to Section 1252 of the California Unemployment Code:

• An individual is considered “unemployed” during any week in which “he or she performs no service and with respect to which no wages are payable to him or her.”  The EDD defines a week as beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday.

• For temporary faculty employees, the eligibility period is determined by the academic calendar. Because temporary faculty are paid for the entire academic term, they may be eligible for UI benefits starting the first day after the academic term ends.  If the academic term has not ended, wages are still being collected for services rendered, and therefore the employee would not be eligible for unemployment benefits.   Likewise, eligibility for UI benefits ends with the first academic work day of the academic term, since temporary faculty are paid from the beginning of the academic term, even if their assigned class does not meet that day.

II. Additional Unemployment Insurance Information for Student employees:

Student employees who work only during terms in which they are enrolled in classes are not eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits.

III. Additional Unemployment Insurance Information for Re-Hired Annuitant Employees:

• Employees who retire and enter the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) maintain their tenure status during their participation in FERP. Therefore, these employees are not contingent employees, and would not be eligible for UI benefits.

• Other rehired annuitants typically are not eligible for UI benefits, because retirement status generally disqualifies an individual from receiving UI benefits.

• Additional information on Unemployment Insurance eligibility and benefits can be found on the State Employment Development Department website at: https://edd.ca.gov:443/unemployment/.