Baby turning 1 soon - husband's PFL stuck in limbo for almost a year with unresponsive caseworker
I'm at my wits' end trying to help my husband claim his baby bonding PFL benefits! Our daughter is turning 1 next month, and we've been trying to get his claim processed for nearly a YEAR with zero success. The nightmare started when EDD initially approved his claim and gave him a benefit amount, but then flagged it because the address on his application didn't match our daughter's birth certificate. We submitted the physical birth certificate copy, but by then they assigned him a caseworker who NEVER returns our calls or voicemails (we've literally called daily for months). We even went to an EDD office in person, but they just directed us back to the phone/online system saying they "can't help with PFL issues" in person. My husband has filed new claims online multiple times, but nothing happens. With the 12-month claim window closing next month, is there ANYTHING we can do to get his approved benefits before it's too late? Has anyone else dealt with completely unresponsive caseworkers?
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Savanna Franklin
this happend to my brother too!!! the caseworkers NEVER call back, its like they dont even exist. did u try contacting ur local assembly person? my bro was stuck for 4 months with his claim and finally got help when he contacted his assemblyman. they have special channels to reach EDD that regular people dont have. google ur district represntative and email them ASAP since ur running out of time
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Sergio Neal
•Thank you! We haven't tried contacting our assembly person yet. That's a great idea - I'll google our district representative right now. Did your brother eventually get his full benefits after the assembly person stepped in?
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Juan Moreno
I'm sorry you're dealing with this frustrating situation. Since your husband was initially approved and the issue was just address verification, you have a strong case. In addition to contacting your assembly member (which is excellent advice), I recommend these specific steps: 1. File a formal complaint through the EDD website using the "Contact EDD" option and select "File a Complaint" - document the complaint number 2. Request a case escalation by explicitly mentioning the approaching 1-year deadline and the lack of caseworker response despite multiple attempts 3. Resubmit a copy of the birth certificate plus proof of address and relationship through the online portal with a cover letter explaining the timeline of events 4. When calling, specifically ask for a "Tier 2 specialist" rather than just speaking to the first representative The good news is that as long as you can prove your husband initiated the claim within the 12-month window (which it sounds like you can), he should still be eligible for benefits even if the processing extends past your daughter's first birthday.
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Sergio Neal
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I didn't know we could file a formal complaint or ask for a Tier 2 specialist. We'll do both of these things today. It's such a relief to hear that he could still get benefits as long as we can prove he filed within the 12-month window. We've kept detailed records of all our calls and submissions, so hopefully that helps.
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Amy Fleming
your better off just giving up on EDD lol... they are USELESS. my wife got pregnant last year and i never saw a DIME of my baby bonding pfl even tho i paid into SDI for YEARS. the system is designed to make u give up. but good luck!
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Savanna Franklin
•dude thats terrible advice. just because u gave up doesnt mean they should. especially since they already got APPROVED, they just need to push through the address verification issue!
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Alice Pierce
I was in a similar situation with my PFL claim getting stuck because of an address mismatch last year. After two months of calling and getting nowhere, I tried the Claimyr service (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to an actual EDD rep within 30 minutes. The rep was able to see all the notes on my case and escalated it to a supervisor. Got my payment two weeks later. Check out their demo video if you're interested: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 Since you've tried everything else and your deadline is approaching fast, it might be worth a try to actually get a human on the phone who can help.
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Sergio Neal
•Thank you for the recommendation! We're at the point where we'll try anything. I just watched the demo video and it looks promising. Did you have to talk to multiple reps or did the first person you spoke to help resolve your issue?
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Esteban Tate
I work with EDD cases frequently, and here's what you need to know about the 12-month deadline: It applies to FILING the claim, not processing it. Since your husband already filed within the timeframe and was initially approved, he should still be eligible for benefits even after your daughter turns one. The address mismatch is a common fraud prevention measure, but the lack of caseworker response is concerning. Document everything, including: - All call attempts (dates/times) - Copies of all documents submitted - Screenshots of online claim submissions - Names of any EDD representatives spoken with As others suggested, contact your assembly member immediately. Also request a formal appeal hearing - this forces EDD to review the case within a specific timeframe. One important technical note: When reapplying online, make sure your husband is using the correct form (DE2508) for baby bonding PFL, not accidentally filing under SDI or disability. This is a common error that causes delays.
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Ivanna St. Pierre
•What about switching to paper filing? I heard sometimes electronic applications get stuck in the system or filtered out automatically because of the address flag. When my cousin had a similar issue, she resubmitted everything via certified mail and it actually got processed faster.
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Esteban Tate
•Paper applications can sometimes bypass certain electronic filters, but they generally take longer to process. In this specific situation with a looming 12-month deadline, I'd recommend pursuing multiple channels simultaneously: continue with the online claim, submit a paper application via certified mail, contact the assembly member, AND request a formal appeal. Given that the original claim was already approved and only flagged for address verification, there's a good chance one of these approaches will succeed.
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Elin Robinson
I dont understand y ur huband didnt just call everyday until someone picked up?? I had to call 37 times in one day before i got thru to edd for my maternity leave. u gotta be more persistent maybe??
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Sergio Neal
•We've been calling literally every day for MONTHS. Multiple calls each day. We've left dozens of voicemails for the assigned caseworker. The regular EDD line representatives say they can't help with PFL claims that have been assigned to a caseworker and tell us we have to wait for the caseworker to contact us. That's the whole problem - we've been extremely persistent but hitting a wall because the system is broken.
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Juan Moreno
I just wanted to clarify something important about PFL claims for baby bonding. There are actually TWO important deadlines to be aware of: 1. You must APPLY within 12 months of the child's birth 2. You must TAKE the leave within 12 months of birth Since your husband was initially approved and has been actively trying to resolve this for months, he has clearly met the first requirement. However, for the second requirement, he needs to have actually taken time off work for bonding purposes within the first year of your child's life. Based on your post, it sounds like he may have already taken this time off last year when he was initially approved? If so, I would specifically mention this in all communications with EDD and your assembly member. Emphasize that he fulfilled both requirements - he applied AND took the time off within the required timeframe - and is simply waiting for the approved benefits to be released after the address verification issue.
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Sergio Neal
•Yes! He did take the full 6 weeks off work right after our daughter was born. He returned to work after that because we couldn't afford to have him unpaid any longer, thinking the PFL payment would come soon after. Thank you for pointing out these two separate requirements - I'll definitely emphasize this in our communications.
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Savanna Franklin
also make sure ur husband checks his spam folder every day!!! sometimes edd sends emails that go to spam and then they close ur case if u dont respond in like 10 days. happened to my cousin and she had to start all over again with her claim
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Sergio Neal
•Good point! We've been checking his email regularly including spam, but I'll make sure we're doing it daily from now on. EDD communication is so frustrating - they never seem to tell you when or how they're going to contact you.
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