Assembly member's office saved my PFL claim after 6 weeks stuck in pending!

omg thank you for posting this!!! ive been waiting for my baby bonding benefits since april 12th and its still showing pending even though i submitted everything correctly. what form did you fill out? was it hard to find your assembly persons office?

I've been telling people this for YEARS! Assembly members and State Senators are literally the EDD cheat code. When my PFL claim got denied because they claimed they "never received" my doctor's certification (even though I had confirmation they did), my Assembly member's office fixed it in 9 days flat. The regular EDD appeals process would have taken MONTHS.

This is excellent advice! For anyone trying this route, a few additional tips: 1. Be very specific about your issue when contacting your Assembly member's office - include dates, claim numbers, and exactly what's happened so far 2. They'll assign you a caseworker who specializes in EDD issues (most offices have someone dedicated to this since EDD problems are so common) 3. You can find your correct Assembly member by entering your address here: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ 4. Be patient - they typically resolve issues within 1-2 weeks, which is MUCH faster than waiting for EDD 5. This works for ALL types of EDD claims - Disability, Paid Family Leave, and Unemployment I work as a benefits coordinator and this is our go-to solution when claims get stuck.

I had a similar experience when transitioning from pregnancy disability to baby bonding PFL. My claim was stuck for almost 4 weeks with no movement. Instead of the assembly member route, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual EDD agent in about 20 minutes instead of spending hours redialing. The agent was able to fix my claim status on the spot! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 Might be worth trying before going the political route, especially if you just need to talk to someone at EDD quickly. But if your claim has deeper issues, the assembly member approach is definitely smart!

My husband's SDI claim also needed intervention to get processed! It took 8 weeks of waiting with ZERO communication before we contacted our Assembly member. Within a week, claim was processed and paid. The system is completely broken when you need to get a politician involved to receive benefits you're legally entitled to. Question though - did your assembly member's office tell you what was actually wrong with your claim? Ours just said it was "expedited" but never explained why it was stuck in the first place, which is frustrating because what if it happens again?

i tried this with my claim last year and it didnt work. assembly member office never even called me back lol. guess it depends which district ur in and who ur rep is. the whole system is a joke tbh

CONGRATS on finally getting paid!!! Just a quick thing to add - make sure you keep certifying for your benefits even while you're waiting for the issue to be resolved. I made the mistake of thinking "what's the point of certifying if they're not paying me anyway" and it created a whole new mess to fix. The EDD system is seriously the most frustrating thing ever when you're already dealing with a newborn!!!

This is such valuable information! I'm currently 8 weeks into waiting for my PFL claim to process and I was starting to lose hope. My baby is already 3 months old and we've been struggling financially without these benefits. I had no idea that contacting my Assembly member was even an option - I thought politicians only dealt with like... laws and stuff, not individual cases like this. Quick question - when you filled out their casework form, did you have to provide a lot of documentation or was it pretty straightforward? I have all my EDD paperwork saved but I'm not sure what they'd need to see. Also, did they ask you to try other steps first or were they willing to jump right in and help? Thank you so much for sharing this success story - it's giving me hope that there's actually a light at the end of this tunnel!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! I'm currently dealing with a similar nightmare - my PFL claim has been stuck in pending for 5 weeks now and I'm about to lose my mind. I've called EDD so many times I have their hold music memorized, and every rep just gives me the same "it's being processed" runaround. I honestly never thought about contacting my Assembly member's office - like others have said, I figured they only dealt with big political stuff, not helping individual people navigate bureaucracy. But reading all these success stories in the comments is really encouraging! One question though - when you contacted your Assembly member's office, did you mention that you'd already tried calling EDD multiple times? I'm worried they might just tell me to keep trying the regular channels first. Also, did they ask for any specific information beyond what was in the casework form? Thanks for taking the time to share this - you might have just saved my sanity (and my bank account)!

This is amazing advice! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - my PFL claim has been pending for 7 weeks and I was starting to think I'd never see those benefits. I had absolutely no idea that Assembly members' offices could help with individual EDD cases like this. I've been calling EDD almost daily and getting nowhere - either can't get through at all or get told the same "it's processing" line with no timeline. It's so stressful when you're already dealing with having a new baby and need that income! I'm definitely going to look up my Assembly member today and submit a casework request. Did they give you any updates along the way or did you just wake up one day to find it was suddenly resolved? Also, did you have to provide your SSN or other sensitive info on the initial form, or was it pretty basic information? Thank you SO much for sharing this - you've given me the first real hope I've had in weeks that this might actually get resolved! 🙏