Californians who have run into employment difficulties because of the coronavirus pandemic can file claims for benefits through the state’s Employment Development Department.

The agency handles payment for situations including:

Laid off or hours reduced. If you have lost employment through no fault of your own — that is, you haven’t quit or been fired for cause — you can file for unemployment benefits. The option covers people who have been furloughed or had their hours cut as well as those who are laid off outright.

Applicants must be actively looking for work and ready to accept it immediately. They also must have earned a minimum amount in the previous 12 months to qualify for unemployment insurance; because the insurance is funded by taxes deducted from pay, most self-employed people aren’t covered.

Applications can be submitted online or over the phone (English (800) 300-5616, Spanish (800) 326-8937). Check the website for the full list of information needed to file a claim. It includes details about your employment over the last 18 months (employers, hours worked, pay received), and, if you’re not a citizen, your employment authorization document.

Weekly benefits range from $40 to $450 a week. Those who are approved can get paid through a debit card, or they can opt to get a check in the mail every other week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that the standard one-week benefit gap will be waived if the work was lost because of the pandemic. Effective immediately, he said, the benefits will be calculated for the period starting the day of the layoff.

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Q&A with activist-turned-teacher Seth Donnelly of Los Altos High School California law requires that a laid-off employee be given a final paycheck — including compensation for any unused paid time off — at the time of termination. An employee who doesn’t receive such final pay can file a complaint with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Can’t work because you’re sick. You should first seek payment through your employer’s sick leave program. If that is not available, you can file a claim for state disability benefits.

Can’t work because a sick dependent needs care. Again, turn first to your employer’s family leave program. The next step would be to file for paid family leave through the EDD.

The state’s paid family leave program applies only when the recipient is taking care of someone who is ill — not because schools or child care have shut down. Some employees allow leave (paid or unpaid) in those situations. The employer can, however, require employees to use vacation or other paid time off before they are allowed to take unpaid leave.