Quick thing nobody mentioned - if you run out of your UI weeks and are still disabled, can DI extend things further? Or are those two clocks running completely separately?

Coming back to the original question one more time because I think it got slightly lost in the details - the short answer to 'can you apply for both at the same time' is yes, you can apply for both. What you can't do is receive payment from both for the exact same days. So file your applications, get your claims set up, and then certify accurately based on what your actual situation is week by week.

Used Claimyr myself a few weeks back when my claim had been in adjudication for going on five weeks with nothing changing in UI Online. Talked to an EDD agent who went through my claim and said the issue was a discrepancy between what I reported for my last employer and what the employer reported to EDD. She told me a Notice of Determination would be mailed and to appeal within 30 days if I disagreed with the outcome. Knowing that it was already in motion and not just sitting ignored made a big difference.

Coming back to the original question one more time because I want to be really clear for anyone else who finds this thread searching: California EDD and Social Security Disability are two completely separate systems run by different agencies. EDD does not reduce your UI benefit because you receive SSDI. SSDI does not get reported as wages when you certify. You can collect both at the same time. The only wrinkle is if your disability is so severe that you genuinely cannot work at all - but then you wouldn't meet UI's requirement of being able and available for work, which is a separate issue from the SSDI itself.

Just finished my third certification cycle and I feel like I finally understand how it all works. First certification was confusing, second I still had questions, third I basically did it in my sleep. For the original poster — it really does click after a couple of cycles.

One thing I keep seeing people get wrong in various EDD threads — your claim year is 52 weeks from when you filed, not 26 weeks. The 26 weeks is the maximum number of weeks you can actually collect benefits on that claim. After 26 weeks of benefits there's no general extension available unless specific economic conditions trigger it, so the 52 weeks is your claim window and 26 is your benefit limit within it. These aren't the same thing and mixing them up can cause confusion about how much time you have left.

Live chat through the Help button in UI Online is something most people overlook. It works Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and you're already logged into your account so the agent can see your claim. For quick questions like 'why is this week pending' it can be faster than the phone line. You can also send a message through your UI Online account if the chat window isn't available.

After six weeks on my claim I want to come back and say it does get less confusing. The first two weeks are the worst — everything is new, nothing is confirmed, you don't know what normal looks like. By the second certification it becomes routine. Keep good records, certify on time, do your work search, and the system mostly works even if getting there is a mess.

My workers comp case wrapped up with a lump-sum settlement last year and I had a question about whether that settlement amount would count as income I had to report when I certified for EDD. Termination of employment came with the settlement closing out. Ended up reaching an EDD agent through Claimyr to ask directly — the agent pulled up my claim and said lump-sum settlement payments are still on the list of income to report when certifying, and EDD decides how they affect that week. She noted both my most recent certified weeks on file and confirmed a determination letter would be mailed once the review was done.

The bottom line for the original situation: you can file for California EDD unemployment even with an open workers comp case, but whether you actually qualify each week comes down to whether you can honestly say you're able and available for work. Full TD where your doctor says you can't work at all makes that impossible. Restrictions that still allow some work create an opening. File, be honest on every certification, report the workers comp payments, and let EDD make the determination. And if they deny you, 30 days to appeal.