5 weeks waiting for EDD PFL response - best phone number to actually reach a human?

Ugh same boat last year! The regular number is useless. Try calling exactly at 8:01am, that sometimes works better.

The main PFL phone number is 1-877-238-4373, but it's notoriously difficult to get through. Here are some strategies that might help: 1. Call first thing when they open at 8:00am 2. Try calling mid-week (Tuesday-Thursday) as Mondays and Fridays tend to be busiest 3. If you're getting the "too many callers" message, try the general EDD number (1-800-300-5616) and then ask to be transferred 4. Make sure your online account is completely up to date, sometimes there are messages or document requests hiding in there Also, 5 weeks is definitely too long for a baby bonding claim to be pending without any updates. Have you checked if there are any outstanding document requests or "incomplete information" flags on your account?

I've stopped using the regualr phone numbers completely. Total waste of time!!! The system is BROKEN. I spent over 120 hours on hold with EDD for my prgenancy disability before switching to baby bonding. They just don't want to actually help anyone. The entire system is designed to make you give up!!!!

After dealing with similar issues getting through to EDD for my own PFL claim, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com). It's a service that basically calls EDD for you and connects you with an agent when they get through. Saved me days of frustration trying to get through myself. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 My PFL claim was stuck in pending for almost a month, and I was able to get it resolved in one phone call once I actually got through to a human. The agent told me there was a "system flag" on my account that needed manual override.

Hey there! Just wanted to add something important - make sure your employer actually submitted their portion of your claim. That was my holdup with baby bonding PFL! My claim was stuck for 6 weeks because my HR department hadn't completed their verification, but the EDD system didn't notify me of this. Once I contacted my HR director and they submitted the required info, my claim was processed within 3 days. The number I eventually had success with was the alternate PFL line: 1-877-238-4373, but you have to call repeatedly sometimes 20+ times to get through. Not ideal with a baby, I know!

The edd website acutally says 2-4 WEEKS is normal process time for pfl claims but everyone i know waited longer. they shouldve told u something by now tho

DONT GIVE UP!!! You have to call them every single day. That's the only way to get anywhere with these people. I went through this with BOTH my pregnancy disability and my baby bonding claim. You basically have to make harassing them your full time job which is RIDICULOUS when you have a newborn!!! The system is deliberately broken to discourage people from getting benefits!!!!!

It might also be worth checking if there was a transition issue between your SDI (pregnancy disability) claim and your PFL (baby bonding) claim, if that applies to your situation. Sometimes there's a paperwork gap when transitioning between these two benefits. Also, one more tip - when you do get through, ask the representative to specifically note in your file what was discussed and any actions they're taking. Get their ID number or name too. This creates a record in case you need to reference the conversation later.

have u tried the online contact form? sometimes they actually respond to those faster than phone

UPDATE: Finally got through today using that Claimyr service someone recommended! It actually worked and got me connected to an EDD rep in about 25 minutes. Found out my claim had a "verification flag" because my last name on my PFL application didn't exactly match what was in their system (I had a hyphen in one place but not the other). Such a stupid reason to hold up my entire claim for 5+ weeks without telling me! The rep manually overrode it and said my payment should process within 24-48 hours. Fingers crossed... and thanks everyone for your help!

Wow, a hyphen issue holding up your claim for 5+ weeks?! That's absolutely ridiculous but sadly not surprising with EDD. Thanks for sharing the Claimyr tip - I've been struggling with my own PFL claim for 3 weeks now and getting nowhere with the regular phone lines. Just signed up and hopefully it works for me too. It's crazy that we have to pay a third-party service just to access benefits we've already paid into through our paychecks. The whole system is broken but at least there are workarounds. Really hope your payment comes through quickly now!

This entire thread is so eye-opening but also infuriating! I'm dealing with my first PFL claim right now (3 weeks pending) and had no idea about these common issues like name formatting mismatches or employer verification delays. The fact that Dmitry had to wait 5+ weeks just because of a HYPHEN is absolutely insane - and they never even told him that was the problem! I'm definitely going to double-check all my info matches exactly and follow up with my HR department. Also bookmarking that Claimyr service as a backup plan. It's so wrong that we need to pay a third party just to access benefits we've already paid into, but if it works, it works. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice you can't get from the official EDD website!

Just want to echo what others have said about checking with your employer! I had a similar issue where my claim was stuck for 4 weeks and it turned out my company's payroll department had submitted incorrect wage information. Once they corrected it, everything processed within a few days. Also, when you do get through to someone (whether through Claimyr or regular calling), ask them to check for ANY system flags or notes on your account - even tiny ones. Sometimes there are automated holds that agents can easily clear but the system doesn't tell you about them. The whole thing is incredibly frustrating but don't give up! Your benefits are worth fighting for.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm currently 3 weeks into waiting for my PFL claim and was starting to panic thinking something was wrong. Reading about Dmitry's hyphen issue and Evelyn's wage information problem makes me realize there could be so many hidden issues causing delays that they just don't tell you about. I'm going to contact my HR department tomorrow to double-check they submitted everything correctly, and I'm also going to review my application with a magnifying glass to make sure every single character matches my other documents exactly. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have to be detectives to figure out why our own benefits are being held up, but at least now I have a game plan. Definitely keeping that Claimyr service as backup if I can't get through in the next week or two. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this is exactly the kind of real advice new parents need!