EDD denied my pregnancy SDI claim for 'insufficient earnings' despite working full-time - help!

This literally just happened to me last month!!! The exact same BS denial reason. Turns out they were looking at the wrong quarters for my base period. Since I filed in January 2025, they should have looked at Oct 2023-Sept 2024 earnings, but somehow they were looking at older quarters. Had to get it corrected by appealing. Such a nightmare when ur pregnant and already stressed!!

This is a fairly common mistake in the EDD system, especially with pregnancy claims. Here's what you need to do: 1. First, verify which quarters they're using for your base period. The base period is NOT the most recent quarters worked - it's usually the 4 completed quarters that were 5-18 months before your claim date. 2. Request a reconsideration (Form DE 1326C) rather than a formal appeal. Mark it as "Wage information is missing or incorrect" and include copies of your paystubs or W-2s from those quarters. 3. If you filed your claim in March 2025, your base period would be Oct 2023 through Sept 2024. Make sure you have documentation for those specific quarters. The reconsideration is much faster than the formal appeal process, which can take months. You should receive a new determination within 10-14 business days after they receive your documentation.

I've seen this happen with pregnancy claims more often lately. Another thing to check - if you changed jobs during your base period, sometimes EDD doesn't properly connect all your wage records. When you submit your reconsideration, include ALL employers during that base period time frame. Also, just to confirm - you're applying for SDI Pregnancy Disability, not Paid Family Leave (PFL) yet, right? Because those are different programs with different qualifications. The reconsideration form needs to be mailed or faxed, unfortunately. The SDI Online portal doesn't have an upload option for this specific form.

tbh i think EDD is just automatically denying tons of claims these days hoping people wont appeal. my sister got denied for the same reason last year but she definitely had enough wages. she appealed and magically got approved 3 weeks later with no explanation. the systems so broken

I had this EXACT PROBLEM last year with my pregnancy disability claim!!! Was working full time for 2+ years and suddenly "insufficient earnings" denial. I spent WEEKS trying to call EDD. Finally I used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual human at EDD in about 10 minutes instead of the usual hangups or hours of waiting. The agent saw the error immediately - they had somehow missed an entire quarter of my earnings. Fixed it on the spot and I had my payments within days. Check out their site claimyr.com or their video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd Seriously, worth every penny when you're 36 weeks pregnant and need this resolved fast. I was losing my mind with stress until I got through.

have you checked your past couple w2s? cuz sometimes employers classify earnings wrong or don't pay into the right programs. i found out my company wasn't actually paying into SDI for the first 6 months i worked there even tho it showed deductions on my paystub! might be worth double checking with your HR dept too?

Just to follow up on my earlier comment - after you submit your reconsideration form, I would still recommend trying to speak with an EDD representative directly. They can often resolve these wage-related denials much faster than waiting for the paper process. Also, if your doctor has already completed your medical certification (DE 2501), make sure that's not expired while you wait for this wage issue to be resolved. The medical certification is only valid for a certain period, and you might need your doctor to update it if this takes too long to resolve.

did u check if theres a message in ur SDI online inbox? sometimes they need additional info but dont tell u except in the portal

Update us when you get it resolved! So many pregnant women going through this same nightmare with EDD right now. The stress is SO not what we need during pregnancy!!