How to File for Unemployment
(for CA Community College Contingent Faculty)
at the End of Fall 2023 Semester
— Filing a NEW Claim, Step-by-Step —

Please read How to File Overview before filing. If you have not at least looked over that document, please do so before continuing.

These are instructions to file a new claim (this means you have never filed an unemployment claim, or have not filed a new claim within the last 12 months). If you need to reopen a claim instead, see the Step-by-Step Guide to Reopening a Claim.

You May Need to Create an ID.me Account

The California Employment Development Department requires those filing claims to have an ID.me account to verify your identity. If you do not already have one, you will be rquired to create an ID.me account when you start the filing process.

This is what you will need to have in order to create an ID.me account:

Info You Will Need to File a New Claim

Let the Screenshots Guide You

The information indicated in the screenshots guides you in how to fill out the forms. In most cases you should answer the questions as indicated in the figures, but, of course, you will need to provide a different answer if the answer shown does not match your own personal information or situation.

There may be specific notes below each screenshot.


If You Have Never Filed a Claim Before, Create Your Account
(if you have an account, skip this section and log in)

If you have never previously filed an unemployment claim in California (or if the last time you filed was many years ago, before California changed its online system), you will first need to create your EDD "Benefits Programs Online" account.

Go to:
https://portal.edd.ca.gov/WebApp/Login

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Go to the EDD Website and Log In

Go to:
https://portal.edd.ca.gov/WebApp/Login
and log in.

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If you cannot log in and you get a message that you are "locked out," you have a few options:


File Your Claim

Note: The EDD will log you out after 30 minutes on any page!
The EDD recommends using the latest version of the Chrome or Firefox browser when filing.

Every so often in the process you will see a "Save as Draft" button. Whenever you have the chance you should save a draft, as the last saved draft is what you will have to start with agin if you lose the workflow.

After you have entered all the appropriate information and get to the bottom of each screen, click "Next" or "Save" to continue.

Application for Unemployment Insurance

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Applicant Information

These next screens just ask for your contact information and ask you to, perhaps, reformat your address (nothing to worry about here). So these screens are simple and repetitive.

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Prior Claim Information

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Contact Information

These next screens just ask for more contact information.

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Citizenship & Statistical Information

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Last Employer

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Last Employer Information

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Employment Information

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If you wish to easily total your quarterly income amounts, open this Interactive Worksheet in a new tab or window.

The following screens of questions can be quite tricky to navigate (from here up to Figure 25c), so read this section carefully. Note that the order in which you need to enter information and click on things here is significant, and actually counter-intuitive, so you should proceed exactly in this order to get through the process as soon as possible:

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It's a good idea to "Save as Draft" button before you click the Next button.

School Employee Information

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Availability Information

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Additional Information

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Disaster Information

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Unemployment Insurance Application Summary

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Congratulations!

You've done it! Make sure you read the "After Filing" section of the Overview.


For the most current version of this document, see:
https://contingentworld.com/unemployment/unemployment_new.php