Can I drive for Uber while receiving EDD PFL baby bonding benefits?

Be careful - when you're on PFL, you're certifying that you're taking time off to bond with your child. If you start earning income through Uber, technically you ARE working and should report those earnings. The EDD can cross-reference with tax info later and potentially hit you with an overpayment notice if they find out you were earning unreported income during your claim period.

my neighbor did doordash during his baby bonding and ended up getting flagged for an audit!!! they made him pay back like $2000 cuz he didnt report any of it. not worth it if u ask me

The EDD considers you either fully able to bond with your child (and thus eligible for PFL) or not. Unlike Disability Insurance which has partial benefits, PFL doesn't have a partial benefit option. If you report income, they'll consider you as having returned to work for those days and will reduce your weekly benefit amount accordingly. The formula they use is: if you work 1-2 days in a week, EDD will pay 5/7 or 4/7 of your weekly benefit amount. If you work 3+ days in a week, you'll get nothing for that week. You do need to report all income when certifying. It's not worth risking an overpayment notice later.

When I was on PFL last year I was working on freelance graphic design projects at night after my husband came home. I reported any days where I worked for 4+ hours as a "work day" on my certification, even though I was still doing all the baby bonding during daytime hours. EDD reduced my benefits for those weeks but I still got some money AND avoided any problems later. Better to be honest than deal with the headache of an audit.

Have you tried calling EDD to ask directly? That's what I would do. BUT GOOD LUCK GETTING THROUGH lol!! I tried calling for THREE DAYS when I had a question about transitioning from disability to baby bonding and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they have this service that calls EDD for you and connects you when an agent answers. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5. Worth it to get a definitive answer directly from EDD about your situation.

One more thing to consider - the purpose of PFL baby bonding is to give you time to bond with your newborn. If you're using that time to work a side gig, even if you're technically following the rules by reporting it, you're not using the leave for its intended purpose. Not judging at all - I know finances can be tight with a new baby - but just something to think about.

my cousin said he called the edd and they told him u can work part time while on pfl but u have to report ALL income and theyll adjust ur benefits. dont try to hide it tho cuz they WILL find out eventually

I went through something similar when my daughter was born last year. I was tempted to do some freelance work but ultimately decided against it after talking to an EDD rep. Here's what I learned: even if you report the income properly, working during PFL can still be problematic because you're certifying that you need the full-time leave for bonding. The EDD looks at it as either you need the leave or you don't - there's not really a middle ground. Instead, I ended up applying for WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) which helped with formula costs, and also reached out to local food banks and baby supply programs through our county. Many churches and community centers have diaper/formula assistance programs too. It's worth exploring those options before risking your PFL benefits. The 8 weeks go by fast and then you can pick up side work without any complications!

As someone who just went through this exact situation 3 months ago, I can't stress enough how important it is to avoid any unreported work during PFL. I was also struggling financially and considered doing some freelance work, but after calling EDD (finally got through after using that Claimyr service someone mentioned) they made it crystal clear that ANY income needs to be reported. The agent told me that even if you work just one day in a week, they'll reduce that week's benefit, and if you work 3+ days you get nothing for that entire week. What really opened my eyes was learning that they have systems that automatically flag discrepancies between your benefit periods and tax filings - it's not a matter of IF they'll find out, it's WHEN. Instead, I applied for WIC (took about 10 days to get approved), found a local food pantry that specifically helps new parents, and even got connected with a program through our hospital that provides formula vouchers for families in need. I also switched to store-brand formula which saved us about $40 per week. Those 8 weeks are SO precious and they really do fly by. Once you're back to work, you can drive Uber guilt-free without any risk to your benefits. Trust me, the peace of mind is worth way more than the extra cash would have been!