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my hubby did this!! yes he can get PFL even after being fired! as long as he paid into SDI within the last 18 months he qualifies! but the benefits are based on a percentage of what he earned during his highest-paid quarter in the base period so might be less money than he hopes lol the EDD system for PFL is actually way better than unemployment in my experience... they didn't give us any hassle about him being unemployed when he applied. took about 10 days to get approved and then another week to get the first payment on the debit card good luck with your little one!! those first few months are so precious 💕
My bff just went through this and found out there's actually a HUGE mistake people make... if he applies for Unemployment first and then PFL, sometimes the computer system gets confused. Because technically you have to be "able and available to work" for unemployment but you're saying you're NOT available to work for PFL since you're caring for a baby. The EDD computers sometimes flag this as fraud even though it's totally legal to transition from one program to another! Make sure if he calls that he explains clearly he was denied unemployment and is now applying for a completely different benefit. And get EVERYTHING in writing!
This is an excellent point! The two programs do have contradictory requirements. For unemployment, you must certify you're looking for work. For PFL, you're certifying you can't work because you're bonding with a child. To avoid problems, he should be very clear in his PFL application that he was denied unemployment and is no longer pursuing it. If he does win his unemployment appeal later, he should immediately inform both departments to avoid any overlapping benefits which could result in an overpayment notice.
Wait I thought PFL was only for bonding with a new baby?? I didn't know you could use it for taking care of sick family members too! Learn something new everyday I guess.
PFL in California can be used for three purposes: bonding with a new child (birth, adoption, foster placement), caring for a seriously ill family member, or participating in a qualifying event when a family member is deployed to a foreign country on active military duty. It's 8 weeks total per 12-month period regardless of which type you use.
UPDATE: I wanted to let everyone know what happened in case it helps someone else. I filed a new claim online and had my husband's cardiologist complete the new certification form. As suggested, I made sure they included specific language about the defibrillator vest and supervision requirements. I called EDD using the Claimyr service that was recommended (which actually worked great - connected me to a real person in about 8 minutes) and the rep confirmed that I was doing everything correctly. She added a note to my file about the urgency of my husband's condition. My claim was approved in 6 days, and I've already received the first payment. Thank you everyone for your help!
Updating my earlier comment after seeing all the contradictory experiences here. The technically correct answer depends on exactly how your employer reported the sick pay to EDD. If they specifically marked it as covering your disability period, then you shouldn't need to report it again. But if it was just general sick pay, you may need to report it. The safest approach is to connect with an EDD representative who can see your specific claim details before submitting your certification. That way you'll get guidance specific to your situation rather than general advice that might not apply.
UPDATE: I finally got through to EDD! For anyone with a similar situation in the future: I DO need to report the sick pay for that transition week on my PFL certification, even though I already reported it for disability. The agent explained that the systems for SDI and PFL are separate, and each needs accurate income reporting. In my specific case, they looked at my employer info and confirmed I needed to enter the 15 hours worth of sick pay for that specific week. Thank you all for your help and suggestions! Baby just woke up so gotta run.
One important thing to remember is that EDD pays based on the week you certify, not when they process the payment. So if you submitted a timesheet that covered multiple weeks with different work hours, make sure you check how they broke it down by week. Sometimes this causes confusion when the math doesn't seem to add up.
UPDATE: I finally got through to EDD this morning! The agent explained that for PFL with part-time work, they do send a separate notice showing the calculation, but it comes 5-7 days after the payment. She confirmed my hours were recorded correctly and walked me through the formula (similar to what @helpful_person described above). My advice to anyone else with this issue - check your mail for the notice, and if you don't get it within a week after payment, definitely call. And yes, document EVERYTHING!
Miguel Castro
Ugh I hate when EDD messes up payments. I swear their system is designed to make everything as complicated as possible. Had a similar issue when transferring from pregnancy disability to bonding time. Get ready for hours of useless hold music if you try calling them!
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Dmitry Petrov
•To be fair, in this case it was a user error with the account number, not an EDD system problem. But you're right that their customer service is incredibly difficult to reach.
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Dmitry Petrov
Here's the official process: When a direct deposit is returned due to incorrect account information, EDD automatically places that specific payment in a special queue for manual handling. Meanwhile, your future payments will continue to process normally to your corrected account information. You should see your second payment deposit as scheduled tomorrow if you've already updated your banking information in the system. The first payment typically takes 7-10 business days to be reissued after it's returned to EDD. They may either redeposit it electronically or mail a physical check, depending on their internal processing. If you don't see your second payment tomorrow, or if it's been more than 10 business days since the first payment was returned, then you should contact EDD directly for assistance.
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Giovanni Rossi
•This is SO helpful - thank you for the detailed explanation! I'll watch for the deposit tomorrow and give it a couple weeks for the first payment. It's a relief to hear they don't just freeze everything because of one error.
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