Do I report an old unclaimed paycheck on my EDD SDI certification form?
Just got a super confusing letter in the mail that's making me worry about my current SDI claim. A payroll company I barely remember working for (maybe 2023? 2022?) sent me notice that I never cashed a paycheck from them, and if I don't claim it now, it'll go to the State Controller's Unclaimed Property Office. I completely forgot about this job - it was just a short gig while I was between positions before my current disability. My question is: do I need to report this old unclaimed check on my SDI certification form? It's not income I earned during my disability period, but I'm receiving it now while on disability. The letter doesn't even show when I actually worked these hours! Would reporting this affect my disability benefits? Really stressed about making a mistake on my certification!
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Beth Ford
You don't need to report that on your SDI certification. The EDD only cares about income you EARNED during the period you're certifying for, not when you receive payment for past work. The certification form specifically asks if you worked or earned wages during the certification period - since you didn't actually perform any work during your disability period, you should answer 'No' to that question. The date on the check doesn't matter - what matters is when you performed the work.
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Atticus Domingo
•Thank you so much!!! That makes me feel way better. I've been stressing about this for days. So just to be 100% clear - even though I'm physically receiving this money during my disability period, I don't report it because I earned it before my disability started?
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Morita Montoya
congrats on the surprise money! dont overthink it, its old income not new work
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Atticus Domingo
•Thanks! It's not a huge amount but definitely a nice surprise. Just didn't want to mess up my disability claim over it!
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Kingston Bellamy
I had almost the exact same situation last year while on SDI. Called EDD about it and spent 3 HOURS trying to get through to a human!!! Finally gave up and used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with an agent in less than 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that old wages from before your disability period aren't reportable on certifications. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd if you need to call about anything else. Saved me so much frustration!
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Joy Olmedo
•does this claimyr thing actually work? ive been trying to reach edd for weeks about my back-dated disability payments
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Isaiah Cross
Be CAREFUL!!! EDD watches everything and they WILL audit you if anything seems fishy! I would report it just to be safe because technically you're receiving money while on disability. Better safe than sorry! They can demand repayment of benefits plus penalties if they think you're hiding income!!
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Kiara Greene
•This advice is incorrect and could actually cause problems. The SDI certification form specifically asks if you "worked" or "earned wages" during the certification period - not if you received money from any source. Reporting old wages incorrectly could trigger unnecessary reviews. The determining factor is WHEN THE WORK WAS PERFORMED, not when payment was received. Since this work was performed before the disability period, it should not be reported on the certification form.
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Evelyn Kelly
lol wish i had ur problem, finding extra money. but yea what others said, SDI only cares about work u did while disabled, not old checks. cash it and enjoy!
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Atticus Domingo
•Haha, yeah, I'm definitely not complaining about unexpected money! Thanks for confirming, makes me feel better about certifying correctly.
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Beth Ford
Just to provide additional clarity - according to EDD's SDI guidelines, you only report wages for work performed during your disability period. Your certification form will ask something like "Did you work during the past two weeks?" and "Did you receive any wages?" - both questions are referring to the certification period only. Past wages for work performed before your disability are completely irrelevant to your current claim and certification. Make sure to keep documentation of when this payment was actually earned (any letter from the payroll company) just in case questions ever come up, but you absolutely should not report this on your certification form.
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Atticus Domingo
•This is so helpful, thank you! I'll definitely keep all the documentation from the payroll company just in case. Really appreciate everyone's advice on this!
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Joy Olmedo
this happend 2 me too but it was unemployment not disability. edd is confusing af!!! i think its different rules for each program
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Beth Ford
•You're right - the rules are different for UI and SDI! For unemployment (UI), you must report ANY income received during the certification period, regardless of when it was earned. For disability (SDI), you only report work/wages earned during the current disability period. This is one of the most common points of confusion between the different EDD programs.
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