EDD Maternity Leave still pending after 6+ weeks - going broke waiting!

Unfortunately this is pretty common with EDD right now. My pregnancy disability took 7 weeks to process last summer, and that was with me calling them repeatedly. The system is incredibly backlogged since COVID and they never fully recovered. A few things that might help: 1) Make sure your doctor completed ALL fields on the medical certification form. If anything is missing, it will delay processing without them telling you. 2) Double check if your employer provided the correct wage information. Sometimes they report wages incorrectly. 3) If you submitted online, sometimes uploading the forms rather than mailing them can cause verification delays. Most importantly, don't wait by the phone for them to call you. You need to be proactive and keep trying to reach them.

my claim took 9 WEEKS to process!!!! and i didnt get any notification when it finally went thru. randomly checked my bank acct one day and there was a deposit. the worst part is when you finally transition to baby bonding after disability, you have to wait AGAIN for that to process. total nightmare

I work as an HR benefits coordinator and see this constantly with my employees. The EDD is severely understaffed and their systems are outdated. A few critical things to know: 1. Continue filing your bi-weekly certifications even while pending! Many people miss this step and it further delays payment. 2. The transition from Pregnancy Disability to Baby Bonding (PFL) requires a new application - these are two separate benefits with different forms (DE2501 for disability, DE2508 for PFL). 3. If your doctor submitted documentation for 4 weeks before birth but you delivered early, make sure they've updated your disability period. 4. For fastest processing, certify online through SDI Online rather than by mail. The current processing time is averaging 5-8 weeks for initial claims, though some are faster if all documentation is perfect.

I was in the EXACT same situation last year and got desperate after waiting 8 weeks. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual EDD rep within 15 minutes when I'd been unable to get through for weeks. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 The EDD rep I spoke to saw that my claim was just sitting there with all documents received, and they pushed it through for processing that day. I got paid 3 days later. Sometimes you just need to get a human on the phone who can manually move it forward.

I waited 10 weeks for my maternity benefits and nearly lost my apartment!!! The system is BROKEN and it's CRIMINAL how they treat new mothers!!!! I filed perfect paperwork and still had to fight for months to get what I deserved. They don't care that we have babies to feed and rent to pay!!!!! And don't even get me started on how they calculate your benefit amount - they use your BASE PERIOD which means if you had any quarters with lower income, your benefit is way less than your actual salary. The whole system is designed to pay as little as possible as slowly as possible.

im on week 5 of waiting... my freind said her sister in law got approved in 2 weeks so i think it depends on ur employer and doctor too? maybe some companys are faster with the paperwork? idk the whole thing is confusing

UPDATE: I finally called EDD at exactly 8:00am today and managed to get through after only a 45 minute wait! The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful and said my claim was held up because they were missing wage information for one quarter (even though my employer said they submitted everything). She manually processed that part and said my claim should be finalized within 5-7 days. I'm cautiously optimistic but won't believe it until I see the money in my account. Will update again when/if that happens. Thanks for all the advice everyone!

congrats on getting thru! my sister had the same problem last year. They never tell you that your claim has an issue - they just let it sit there forever! so frustrating. hope u get ur money soon!

FINAL UPDATE: My claim was approved and I received payment yesterday! It included all back benefits from my disability start date. Such a huge relief. Now I just need to submit my baby bonding (PFL) application and hope that process goes more smoothly. Thanks again to everyone for the advice and support!