AB 1034

Currently, a claimant must wait one week after becoming eligible to receive

unemployment insurance benefits before the claimant may receive benefits for a

week of unemployment. The waiting period does not affect the maximum number

of weeks of a claimant's benefit eligibility.

This bill allows the secretary of workforce development to suspend the

application of the one-week waiting period for up to 52 weeks during a declared state

of emergency as is needed to address the state of emergency. The bill also specifically

requires the secretary to suspend the application of the one-week waiting period

retroactively for benefit years that began on March 15, 2020, so as to apply to the

public health emergency declared on March 12, 2020, by executive order 72.