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Just transitioned from Pregnancy Disability (SDI) to Paid Family Leave for baby bonding and getting anxious about timing. My SDI claim was approved pretty quickly (within 2 weeks), but I've been hearing horror stories about PFL taking forever to process. I submitted all my PFL paperwork through the online portal last Friday and haven't seen any updates yet. My last SDI payment just hit my account yesterday, so I'm getting worried about a potential gap between benefits. Does anyone know if PFL typically takes longer to process than disability? I can't afford weeks without income while caring for my newborn. For reference, my doctor completed the DE2501 form right after delivery and I submitted the DE2508 for the PFL portion as soon as I got home from the hospital.
Help! I'm totally stressed about my maternity Disability claim. My OB put me on early leave at 36 weeks due to pregnancy complications, and I just submitted my DE 2501 form. When I used the EDD benefit calculator, I noticed it's looking at wages from July 2024-June 2025 for my calculation period. Here's my issue: I was laid off from my previous job in May 2025 and collected unemployment for a few months before starting my current position in July 2025. When I filed the DE 2501, I listed my current employer (where I've worked 3 months), but the benefit calculation seems to be using my previous employer's wages. Did I mess up by putting my current employer on the form instead of my previous one? Will this delay my benefits or cause problems? I'm due in 3 weeks and panicking about my maternity income!
Just to give you a timeline expectation - my pregnancy disability claim took exactly 14 days to process from submission to first payment. The first payment included retroactive benefits from my disability start date. Make sure you're checking your SDI Online account regularly, as that's where they'll post messages if they need additional information. Also verify your payment preference (EDD debit card or direct deposit) is set up correctly to avoid payment delays. For what it's worth, the longest part of the whole process was getting my doctor to submit their portion of the claim!
Hey Keisha! I went through something very similar when I had my daughter last year. I switched jobs about 4 months before going on maternity leave and was so worried I'd messed something up on the paperwork. Here's what actually happened: EDD pulled wage records from BOTH my old job (where I made more money) AND my new job to calculate my benefits. The employer you list on the DE 2501 is really just for them to verify your current employment status and last day worked - it doesn't determine which wages they use for your benefit amount. Your benefit calculation will be based on your highest earning quarter during the base period, which sounds like it would include your previous employer's wages since they paid you more. That's actually good news for your benefit amount! The one thing I'd recommend is making sure all your wage information is accurate in their system. You can check this by creating an account on the EDD website and looking at your wage history. If anything looks off, you can submit corrections, but honestly most of the time their records are complete. Try not to stress too much (easier said than done, I know!). Focus on preparing for baby and let EDD do their thing. Congratulations on your upcoming arrival! ๐
I'm at my wits end trying to get my PFL benefits! Back in September I took 4 weeks off for baby bonding, but my claim was denied because my employer accidentally recorded me as working 4 days that month AND paid me for those days (which they later deducted from my next paycheck). I immediately sent back the correction paperwork in late September, but it's been radio silence from EDD since then. I filed a new claim in late November thinking maybe the first one was lost in their system. Still nothing. Then I took another 4 weeks in December for additional bonding time and filed for that period too. It's now been MONTHS and I haven't received a single response about ANY of my claims! My savings are completely drained and I'm starting to panic. Has anyone dealt with the employer error situation before? Any suggestions on how to actually get someone at EDD to look at my case? I've called at least 20 times and can't get through to a human.
my sister works at edd (not in benefits tho) and she says their systems r super backed up right now. lots of ppl having baby during pandemic so theyre still catching up. might just need more time unfortunately
I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! Filed my PFL claim in January for bonding leave and it's been stuck in "pending" status for over 2 months. My employer also had a payroll mix-up where they initially coded my leave as sick time instead of family leave. From reading through all these responses, it sounds like the assembly member route might be the best bet. I'm definitely going to try that along with the certified mail approach. It's so frustrating that we have to jump through all these hoops just to get benefits we've paid into! @Grant - have you tried documenting everything in a timeline format? Sometimes having all the dates, reference numbers, and actions taken in one clear document helps when you finally do get through to someone. Also, if you haven't already, make sure you're keeping records of all the financial hardship this delay is causing - that might help expedite things. Keep us posted on what works! There are clearly a lot of us dealing with EDD issues right now.
Hey everyone, I'm having some issues with my unemployment claim. I need to update my direct deposit information and reinstate my benefits. Has anyone gone through this process recently? Any tips or advice would be really appreciated!
Hey OP, just a heads up - when you do get through, make sure to ask about any potential overpayments or penalties for reinstating. I got blindsided by that and it was NOT fun.
I went through this exact same process about 3 months ago! For the direct deposit update, I was able to do it through the online portal - just log into your UI Online account and look for "Profile" or "Payment Information." Much faster than calling. As for reinstatement, definitely call early morning like others said, but also have your work search log ready just in case they ask. The whole process took about 2 weeks for me once I got everything submitted. Hang in there! ๐ช
Hey everyone, I'm having an issue with my unemployment claim. The return-to-work date on my claim is incorrect, and I'm not sure how this might affect my benefits. Has anyone else dealt with something similar? I'm planning to call and speak with an agent about it, but I wanted to see if anyone here had any insights or experiences to share. Thanks in advance for any help!
Has anyone tried reaching out to their local assembly member's office for help? I've heard they can sometimes intervene and speed things up with EDD.
You can find your assembly member by entering your address here: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
I went through this exact same situation a few months ago! My return-to-work date was off by almost 3 weeks, which would have cut my benefits short. Here's what worked for me: I called first thing Monday morning at exactly 8am (they open at 8) and got through after about 45 minutes of redialing. The key is persistence! When I finally got a rep, I had all my documentation ready - my termination letter, any correspondence from my employer, etc. They were able to correct it during the call and I got an updated notice in the mail within a week. The rep told me that incorrect dates are pretty common due to employer reporting errors or system glitches. Don't stress too much about it affecting your benefits as long as you get it fixed quickly. They can adjust any payments retroactively once the correct date is in the system. Good luck! ๐ค
Geoff Richards
My wife just went through this whole process. Her PFL took about 9 days to process after her SDI ended. The EDD website never updated properly though - she got a payment before the website even showed her claim was approved. So don't trust the website 100%.
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Salim Nasir
AuthorThat's really good to know! I'll keep an eye on my bank account as well as the website. 9 days would be amazing compared to some of these other stories!
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Ally Tailer
I'm also currently waiting for my PFL to process after my pregnancy disability ended! Reading through these responses is both reassuring and nerve-wracking at the same time. It sounds like there's such a wide range of processing times - from 3 days to over a month. I submitted my PFL application about a week ago and haven't heard anything yet. Like you, I'm worried about the income gap since my last SDI payment just came through. Has anyone found that calling EDD actually helps speed things up, or do you just get stuck in the phone queue forever? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the hassle at this point or if I should wait another week.
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