Both our baby bonding PFL claims stuck pending for 2+ months - Should we reapply?
Our twin situation has turned into an EDD nightmare! My wife and I both submitted baby bonding PFL applications back in late February 2025 after our twins were born. It's now almost May and BOTH our claims still show as 'pending' in the EDD portal. I thought PFL claims were supposed to be processed within 14 days? We've each called at least 20 times and either get disconnected or sit on hold until the office closes. I'm starting to panic because our savings are almost gone and neither of us is getting paid. Should we just submit new applications? Would that make things worse? Has anyone dealt with both parents having stuck PFL claims at the same time?
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Malik Johnson
Congrats on the twins! But no dont reapply!!!! That will 100% make things worse and probably reset your whole process. Did u upload all ur docs including birth certificates? Sometimes they get stuck if the docs arent clear.
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QuantumLeap
•Thanks! Yes, we uploaded everything - birth certs, ID verification, employer info. The frustrating thing is there's no indication of anything missing or wrong in either of our accounts. Just eternally 'pending' with no explanation.
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Isabella Santos
Unfortunately this happens a lot with twin births where both parents file. EDD's system sometimes flags these as potential duplicate claims even though they're completely valid. You definitely shouldn't reapply, but you do need to speak with a representative to get it manually reviewed. When I had a similar issue (though not with twins), I found that calling exactly at 8:00am when they open gave me the best chance of getting through. Keep all your documentation handy - claim numbers, birthdates, employment info, etc. when you call.
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QuantumLeap
•Thank you so much for this insight! We had no idea twin claims might get flagged. We'll try the 8am strategy tomorrow morning. I guess we need to be extra persistent now that we know it might require manual review.
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Ravi Sharma
THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!! I had a single baby last year and my claim was stuck for 9 WEEKS!!!! Every day calling and calling and no one picks up! They just don't care that families are going broke waiting for benefits we PAID INTO!!! And now they're doing this to BOTH of you with TWINS?? This is insane!!!
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Freya Larsen
•I know right? My sister had the same problem last month. The EDD system is totally overwhelmed with all the baby bonding claims. They should hire more people with all the money they take from our paychecks!
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Omar Hassan
I work in HR and see this frequently. Here's what's likely happening: when two parents from the same household file PFL baby bonding claims simultaneously, especially for multiple births, it often triggers a manual review process. The automated system has safeguards against duplicate claims, which is inadvertently affecting your legitimate case. DON'T submit new applications - that will absolutely delay things further. Instead: 1. Contact your employers' HR departments to verify they completed their portions correctly 2. Request an "escalation" specifically when you call EDD (use this exact terminology) 3. If you can't reach someone by phone, submit a written request for claim status through your online accounts For twin births, both parents are fully entitled to their separate 8-week bonding periods. This is just a processing issue, not an eligibility problem.
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QuantumLeap
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'll contact our HR department first thing tomorrow. When you say "request an escalation" - do we just say that to whoever answers at EDD? And should we submit the written requests from both our accounts or just one?
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Omar Hassan
•Yes, literally say "I need to request an escalation for my PFL claim" as soon as you get a representative. And definitely submit written requests from both accounts separately, referencing each other's claim numbers if possible. The key is documenting your attempts to resolve this.
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Chloe Taylor
Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an EDD representative? After weeks of trying, I finally used their service and got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. They basically call EDD for you and then connect you when they reach someone. Saved me so much frustration! Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 In my case, my baby bonding claim was stuck because my employer had entered my SSN incorrectly, but there was no way to know that without speaking to someone. Hopefully you can get both claims sorted out quickly!
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Malik Johnson
•does that actually work?? im skeptical of anything that says it can get u thru to EDD lol
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QuantumLeap
•Thanks for the tip! At this point I'd try almost anything. Just watched the video and bookmarked the site. If we can't get through with the 8am calling strategy tomorrow, we'll definitely give this a try.
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ShadowHunter
wait i'm confused... i thought you could only get PFL if you were the one who gave birth? can both parents really get it at the same time? my husband and i are expecting in july and we didn't know we could both apply...
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Isabella Santos
•There are two different programs. Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) or State Disability Insurance (SDI) is what covers the person who gives birth - typically 4 weeks before delivery and 6-8 weeks after. Then there's Paid Family Leave (PFL) for baby bonding, which BOTH parents can take - up to 8 weeks each. So yes, both you and your husband can receive benefits, but the birthing parent typically transitions from SDI to PFL after recovery.
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ShadowHunter
•omg this changes everything!!! we had no idea he could get paid leave too! thank you so much for explaining!!!
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QuantumLeap
Quick update for anyone interested: We finally got through to EDD this morning! Turns out there was a "system flag" on both our accounts because we have the same address and birth date for the twins. The representative removed the flag and said both claims should be processed within 5-7 business days. So relieved! For anyone else stuck in pending: definitely mention "escalation" when you call (thanks @HR-Person!), and yes, twin births with both parents applying does seem to cause problems in their system.
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Omar Hassan
•Excellent news! This is exactly the issue I suspected. So glad you were able to get it resolved. Make sure to check your accounts daily, and if you don't see movement within 7 days, call back and reference the previous call.
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Ravi Sharma
•How did you actually get through?? I've been calling for DAYS and can't get a real person!
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