Two bright-red phones at the Verdugo Jobs Center in Glendale are direct lines to the state offices that manage unemployment insurance, the benefit that can be a lifesaver after a layoff.
But because of record unemployment levels in the state, picking one up doesn't mean you'll get through any time soon.
"Sometimes people call all day," said Carolyn Anderson, manager of the center.
Calling from home is as bad if not worse, and don't even think of applying in person -- the unemployment insurance offices were closed to the public years ago.
The deputy director of the program, Deborah Bronow, admits that the state's booklet on unemployment benefits doesn't help applicants much.
"We know they don't read it," Bronow said. "It's big, and we're the government."
Even the table of contents is confusing.
So consider this Unemployment 101, a consumer guide to the basics of the labyrinthine program that can be key to keeping you in your home and putting food on the table.
It's your personal red phone. Keep it for emergencies.
Eligibility
The basic rule: Unemployment insurance benefits -- which are funded mostly by employer payroll taxes and federal dollars -- are for people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. And in this sorry economy, that's a lot of people.
If you are fired for cause or just plain quit, the benefits could be denied.
Also, an applicant usually has to have been a staff employee.
"Independent contractors are not eligible," said Matthew Goldberg, an attorney at the Employment Law Center of the Legal Aid Society in San Francisco.
There is a minimum earnings requirement as well. To collect benefits, you would have had to earn at least $900 in wages during a fiscal quarter in what the program calls the base period.
Here's one of the points where it gets confusing -- that base period is a year long, but it skips the most recent full quarter. In other words, if you filed for unemployment benefits in January 2009, your base period would run from October 2007 through September 2008.
When in doubt, it's probably easier to apply for the benefits and let the Employment Development Department, which oversees the program in California, figure out whether you made the grade.
If you're turned down for any reason, you have the right to file an appeal within 20 days to ask for a hearing.
