SDI claim stuck in pending for 14 weeks - State Representative involved but still no payment!

I went through something really similar back in February. My claim was stuck in pending for 6 weeks because my doctor apparently used the wrong diagnosis code or something stupid like that. After weeks of calling with no luck, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual EDD representative. They have a system that basically calls EDD for you and then connects you when they get through. Saved me hours of redial hell. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd\n\nWhen I finally got through, the agent was able to contact my doctor's office while I was on the phone and fix the issue. Got paid within 48 hours. Might be worth trying before your State Rep complaint works its way through the system.

Thanks for the suggestion! I've never heard of Claimyr before. Does it actually work? At this point I'm desperate enough to try anything. Did they need a lot of personal information to use their service? I'm going to check out that video right now.

state reps usaly take like 2-3 weeks to get stuff fixed with edd. my brothers claim was messed up for like 2 months and then his assemblyman fixed it in like 10 days. better than nothing i guesss

10 days still seems like forever when you're about to get evicted, but I guess it's better than waiting another 2 months. I'll stick with it. Thanks for sharing your brother's experience!

I work in healthcare administration and deal with these issues frequently. The problem is almost certainly with the DE 2501 form (Physician/Practitioner's Certificate). With paper forms, doctors often miss critical fields or use handwriting that's illegible to the EDD processors. Since you mentioned your doctor is 'old school,' I'm guessing that's exactly what happened.\n\nHere's what I'd recommend:\n1. Call your doctor's office and ask to speak directly with their disability coordinator (not just the receptionist)\n2. Explain the situation and ask them to proactively send an updated DE 2501 with ALL fields completed, especially highlighting the disability start date\n3. Ask them to fax it to EDD and give you the confirmation number of the successful fax\n4. Call EDD again (using whatever method works) with that fax confirmation number\n\nThe State Representative route can be effective, but it's typically 2-3 weeks before you see results. They essentially have special contacts at EDD who will review your case as a priority, but even priority cases take time to process.\n\nIn the meantime, if you're experiencing severe financial hardship, contact your local county social services about emergency assistance programs. Many counties have emergency rental assistance and food programs that can help while you wait for your disability payments.

Thank you so much for this detailed advice! I'll call my doctor first thing tomorrow morning and ask for the disability coordinator specifically. I hadn't thought about asking for the fax confirmation number - that's brilliant. I'm definitely going to look into emergency assistance too. My county has a 211 helpline I can call. Really appreciate you taking the time to explain all this!

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN BY DESIGN!!!! They WANT claims to get stuck so they don't have to pay out. I was on SDI last summer and they \

While I understand your frustration, I don't think the system is deliberately designed to be difficult. It's more about being severely understaffed and using outdated technology. The paper DE 2501 forms in particular are notorious for creating delays because they have to be manually entered into their system. The automatic OCR scanning often misreads doctor handwriting, causing exactly the kind of problems the original poster is experiencing. \n\nStill awful to deal with though, especially when you're already dealing with a medical condition and financial stress.

UNDERSTAFFED?? They took BILLIONS in federal COVID money to \

I had almost the exact situation happen with my PFL claim last year! Waited for months with no payment because they said my employer information was missing, but it wasn't! State rep office fixed it in about 2 weeks. They have direct contacts at EDD that regular people don't have access to. Hang in there!

That's encouraging to hear! Did your rep's office keep you updated during those 2 weeks or did you just suddenly get notification that your claim was processed? I'm wondering how much I should be following up with them.

They called me once after a week to say they were still working on it, then I got an email directly from EDD about a week later saying my claim was approved. The money showed up on my card the next day. The rep's office actually called me a day AFTER I got paid to tell me it was resolved lol. But they did fix it!

One thing to note - there's a difference between contacting your State Assembly member and your State Senator. I recommend contacting BOTH offices simultaneously. Each office has different EDD contacts, and sometimes one office can get results faster than the other. I've helped several friends navigate these issues (I used to work for a benefits advocacy group), and using both offices simultaneously often gets faster results.\n\nAlso, when you speak with the representative's staff, specifically ask them to request an \

I only contacted my Assembly member so far - I'll reach out to my State Senator's office tomorrow! I didn't know I could do both at the same time. I did mention the potential eviction to the Assembly staff, but I'll make sure to specifically request the \

Just wondering - have you tried going to an actual EDD office in person? I was having the WORST time with my claim until I physically went to the office. Waited about 3 hours but the lady there was actually super helpful and fixed the issue while I waited. Might be worth a try if there's an office near you?

Disability claims are handled in a completely different system than unemployment. The physical EDD offices can't access or fix SDI claims - they'll just tell you to call the SDI number. Ask me how I know... 😫 wasted a whole day trying this route

Oh no, I had no idea! That's so frustrating they don't make that clear on their website. Sorry you wasted your time with that!

To follow up on my earlier comment - I've used the State Rep route too for a previous claim issue (before I knew about Claimyr). In my experience, it took about 12-15 business days from when I submitted all my info to when the issue was resolved. The key is making sure you provide them with EVERYTHING - claim number, exact dates, copies of all documents, detailed timeline of your attempts to resolve it, etc. The more organized your information is, the faster they can help.

This is really helpful - I just sent them my claim number and basic info, but I should probably send a more detailed timeline and copies of everything. I'll put that together tonight and email it over. Thank you!