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I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been dealing with the same E313 error for the past two weeks and was starting to lose hope. My name has both a long first name AND special characters (my last name has an accent mark), so I was getting hit with a double whammy. Reading through all these solutions has been incredibly helpful - I never would have thought that special characters could be the issue. I'm going to try entering my name in ASCII format like @CosmicCaptain suggested, and also maybe shorten my first name to just the first part if the character limit is still a problem. It's frustrating that the system is so outdated, but at least now I have some concrete steps to try. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this community is a lifesaver! 🙏
@Taylor To I m'so sorry you ve'been dealing with this for two weeks! That s'incredibly frustrating. The combination of long names and special characters definitely seems to be a common trigger for the E313 error based on everyone s'experiences here. I d'definitely try @CosmicCaptain s'suggestion about converting to ASCII characters first - that seems to be the magic fix for most people with special characters. And if you re'still hitting character limits after that, then try shortening your first name like others have suggested. It s'ridiculous that we have to jump through these hoops in 2025, but hopefully one of these workarounds will finally get you through the system! Rooting for you! 💪
This thread is incredible! I just joined this community because I've been battling the same E313 error for almost a month now. My name is María José González-Hernández and I was ready to give up completely until I found all these solutions. Between the accent marks, the hyphen, and the length, my name is basically the EDD system's worst nightmare 😅 I'm going to try entering it as "Maria Jose Gonzalez-Hernandez" first (removing accents like @CosmicCaptain suggested), and if that still doesn't work due to length, I'll try "M. J. Gonzalez-Hernandez" or maybe even "Maria Gonzalez". It's honestly embarrassing that California's government systems can't handle the diversity of names in our state, but I'm so grateful to everyone here for figuring out these workarounds and sharing them. You've all probably saved me weeks of additional frustration! Will definitely update once I try these solutions. 🤞✨
@Ava Rodriguez wow, your name really is the perfect storm for EDD system issues! 😅 I feel for you having to deal with this for a whole month. The ASCII conversion that @CosmicCaptain shared really seems to be the key breakthrough here. I d'definitely start with Maria "Jose Gonzalez-Hernandez and" see if removing just the accents does the trick. If the length is still an issue, the M. "J. approach" sounds like a solid backup plan. It s'wild that we have to essentially dumb "down our" names for a government system in 2025, but hey, whatever gets you your benefits! Really hoping one of these solutions works for you - keep us posted! 🙏
Anyone else feel like we need to start a petition or something to get the government to fix this mess? It's not fair that we have to jump through so many hoops just to get the benefits we're entitled to.
Wow, this whole thread is so relatable! I'm currently on week 4 of trying to get my PFL claim processed and it's been absolutely exhausting. The fact that we have to resort to paying third-party services just to talk to someone at our own state agency is honestly insane. I've been hesitant about using those calling services because I wasn't sure if they were legit, but hearing multiple people confirm they work is really helpful. At this point, $20 seems like a small price to pay for my sanity. Thanks for sharing your experience @Jungleboo - gives me hope that there's actually a light at the end of this tunnel! 🤞
@Anastasia I totally feel you! Week 4 sounds absolutely brutal. I'm just starting my journey with PFL and honestly reading all these experiences has me both terrified and grateful for the heads up. It's wild that in 2024 we're still dealing with systems this broken. Have you tried the early morning calling strategy that @Peyton mentioned? I'm thinking of giving that a shot before considering the paid services. Sending you all the good vibes that your claim gets sorted soon! 💪
I'm currently in a similar situation - on disability for a back injury and just found out I'm pregnant (20 weeks). Reading through everyone's responses has been incredibly helpful! I'm definitely going to start preparing the paperwork early based on all the advice here. One question though - if my current disability claim runs out before I need to start pregnancy leave, do I still need to file a new claim or can there be a gap between them?
Great question! If your current disability claim ends before you need pregnancy leave, you can actually have a gap - you don't need continuous claims. When you're ready to start pregnancy disability, you'd just file a new claim at that time with the DE2501 form. The key thing is that if there's more than a year between claims, you might have a new base period for calculating benefits (which could be good or bad depending on your earnings). But if it's within the same benefit year, your calculation stays the same. Just make sure your doctor certifies the exact dates you need to be off work for pregnancy-related reasons!
This thread has been so informative! I'm dealing with something similar but slightly different - I'm currently on disability for carpal tunnel and just hit 35 weeks pregnant. My OB wants me to start pregnancy disability soon but I'm nervous about the timing since my carpal tunnel isn't fully healed yet. Can the pregnancy disability start even if I'm not technically "recovered" from my current disability? Also, does anyone know if having overlapping medical conditions affects the benefit amount or approval process? I don't want to mess up my current payments but I also need to make sure I'm covered for delivery.
idk if this helps but I had a similar issue. Turns out they needed additional proof of income. I uploaded my w2 and tax returns, and it got sorted within a week.
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! This is so helpful. @Nina Fitzgerald that calling service sounds interesting but wow, $20 just to get through to them is nuts. @Makayla Shoemaker I'll check if they need additional income docs - that's a good point. Has anyone had luck with emailing their state representatives? I'm getting desperate here and might try that route next.
@Mei Liu I actually contacted my state rep about 2 months ago when I was stuck in EDD limbo! It took about a week for their office to get back to me, but they were able to escalate my case. Got a call from EDD within 3 days after that and my payments started flowing again. Definitely worth trying - worst case they can t'help, but best case they cut through all the red tape for you. Good luck! 🤞
Tyrone Hill
Congrats on your little one! I'm actually in a similar boat - just had my son 5 weeks ago and I'm on PFL right now. Everyone's advice here is spot on about the biweekly payments. One thing I'd add is to make sure you understand exactly when your certification periods are. Mine are every two weeks on Sundays, and I learned the hard way that if you miss your certification deadline, your payment gets delayed until the next cycle. Also, keep your phone handy when you're expecting payments because sometimes EDD will text you about payment status updates. The waiting can be nerve-wracking when you're budgeting for a new baby, but once you get into the rhythm it becomes pretty predictable!
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Chloe Taylor
•Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's really reassuring to hear from someone who's currently going through the same thing. I'll definitely pay close attention to those certification deadlines - that's such an important detail that could easily be missed. And good to know about the text updates too! It sounds like once you get the hang of the system it becomes more manageable. How are you finding the whole PFL experience overall? Is the benefit amount helping cover your expenses during leave?
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Yara Haddad
Congratulations on your daughter! I'm currently navigating PFL for the first time too after having my baby 2 months ago. Just wanted to share that everyone here is absolutely right about the biweekly schedule. One additional tip - if you're using Bank of America (which is who handles the EDD debit cards), you can set up text alerts through their system too so you get notified the moment funds hit your card. Also, I found it helpful to screenshot my certification dates and set phone reminders because with newborn brain fog it's easy to lose track of deadlines! The payments have been pretty consistent for me so far, usually hitting my account on Tuesdays. Hope your experience goes smoothly!
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Eduardo Silva
•Thank you for the congratulations and all the helpful tips! The Bank of America text alerts sound like a great idea - I'll definitely set those up. And you're so right about the newborn brain fog! I can already tell I'm going to need those phone reminders for certification dates. It's really comforting to hear from other new moms who are going through this process at the same time. Knowing that your payments have been hitting consistently on Tuesdays gives me a good expectation to set. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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