EDD SDI denied my claim due to '7-day waiting period' - surgery was 8 days before filing!
I'm so confused about my denied disability claim! I had gallbladder surgery on January 12, 2025, and my doctor gave me an off-work note for 10 days total. The first 6 days were covered by my employer's sick leave, and I was told to apply for SDI for the remaining 4 days. When I submitted my claim on January 20th (8 days after surgery), EDD denied it saying I didn't meet the 7-day continuous waiting period requirement. But wasn't I technically disabled from the surgery date (Jan 12)? The denial letter just says 'claimant does not meet 7-day continuous disability requirement' without explaining how they counted the days. I'm confused because I thought the waiting period starts from the first day of disability (surgery date), not from when I filed. I'm considering appealing but want to understand where I went wrong first. Has anyone else dealt with this situation?
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Jamal Washington
the problem is ur employer paid sick leave. EDD counts the waiting period from when ur NOT getting paid from other sources. so those 6 sick days don't count toward the 7 day waiting period. u need 7 unpaid days b4 SDI kicks in
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•Oh no! I had no idea that sick pay doesn't count toward the waiting period. My HR person told me I could just apply after using up my sick time. So there's basically no way I could have qualified for just 4 days then? That seems so unfair!
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Mei Wong
The previous commenter isn't entirely correct. The 7-day waiting period is calendar days from the date your disability begins (your surgery date), regardless of whether you're receiving sick pay or not. However, SDI won't pay benefits for days you received full sick pay from your employer. The problem might be that you only had 4 unpaid days of disability after your sick leave, which isn't enough to receive SDI payments (even though you satisfied the waiting period). The EDD requires both: 1) a 7-day waiting period AND 2) at least one day of disability after that waiting period where you're not receiving full wages. Did your doctor certify you as disabled for the full 10 days?
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•Yes, my doctor certified the full 10 days starting from surgery. So even though I satisfied the 7-day waiting period starting from my surgery date, I still need additional unpaid disability days to actually receive payment? I think I understand now - the 7 days are basically a deductible, and I need more than 7 days total to get anything. Is there any point in appealing?
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Liam Fitzgerald
Hey there! I work in HR and deal with this confusion all the time. Here's what happened: The 7-day waiting period starts from your first day of disability (your surgery date), BUT California SDI will not pay benefits for any day you receive full sick pay or wages. So while you met the waiting period requirement, you only had 4 days of actual unpaid disability after that. Since SDI doesn't pay for the waiting period, and you were only unpaid for 4 days after that, there simply weren't enough compensable days for SDI to pay out. If your doctor had certified you for 12+ days total, you would likely have been approved for those 4 unpaid days. Unfortunately, an appeal probably won't help in this situation since it's a statutory requirement, not an error in processing.
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PixelWarrior
•Wait, this is confusing. So if someone has exactly 7 days of disability, they get NOTHING from SDI? That seems really messed up. So you basically need 8+ days of disability to get anything at all??
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Amara Adebayo
i had the EXACT same prob last yr after my knee surgery!!! my company gave me 1 week sick leave & i tried 2 get SDI for the next week but got denied! waste of time filling out all those stupid forms just to get NOTHING. the whole system is a scam if u ask me. they make it impossible to actually get the benefits we pay into!!!
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Giovanni Rossi
•It's not a scam - it's designed for longer disability periods. The 7-day waiting period is like a deductible on insurance. For short disabilities (7-14 days), it can feel unfair, but for someone out 3-6 months, that one-week waiting period is a small portion of their total claim. Most private disability plans have 14-30 day waiting periods, so California's 7-day period is actually more generous than many alternatives.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
I think ur best bet is 2 call EDD directly & ask them 2 explain exactly why they denied u. Its impossible 2 get thru on the phone tho... took me like 47 calls last time lol. Maybe try early morning?
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Dylan Evans
•Instead of wasting your time with countless calls, I used Claimyr last month to reach an EDD agent for my SDI question. Got through in about 20 minutes instead of days of trying. The service connects you directly with an EDD rep who can look at your specific claim details. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd that shows how it works. The agent I spoke with was able to explain exactly why my claim was held up and fixed it while I was on the phone. Worth it for the peace of mind alone!
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Zoe Papadopoulos
Thanks everyone for the explanations! I understand what happened now. The 7 days is basically a deductible period that I don't get paid for, and since I only had 4 additional days of disability after that, AND I used sick pay for the first 6 days, I basically didn't qualify for any benefit payment. Seems like SDI only makes sense for longer disability periods. I'll know better for next time, though hopefully I won't need surgery again! I may still try calling EDD just to confirm this understanding.
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Mei Wong
•That's exactly right! And yes, SDI is most beneficial for disabilities lasting longer than 2 weeks. If you do call EDD to confirm, ask them about their calculation of your "benefit begin date" versus your "disability begin date" - that will show you exactly how they counted the waiting period. Good luck with your recovery!
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