Genuinely didn't know any of this existed before I had to file. The whole system is built for people who already know how it works, which is frustrating when you're new to it. Bookmarking this thread for my next terrible situation.

Used Claimyr to reach EDD about my severance question before certifying — my package included both a lump sum and three weeks of in-lieu-of-notice pay and I wasn't sure how to handle them separately on the certification. The agent walked through my specific weeks with me and confirmed both amounts needed to be reported as the certification asked, and that EDD would apply the rules to each week. Felt better certifying after that than guessing on my own.

My situation reading your post sounds identical to mine from a few months back. 'Moving in a different direction' is basically corporate code for a layoff-style termination with no specific cause attached. EDD looked at my case and found no misconduct documented, no written warnings, nothing. The interview took about 10 minutes and the determination came about two weeks after. Filed for direct deposit in myEDD before my first payment so it went straight to my bank account instead of waiting for the debit card.

EDD handles thousands of firing cases and the vast majority where the employer can't show real documented misconduct end up approved. Two and a half years of employment with no documented discipline history is a solid position to be in. File today, verify your identity through ID.me the moment it asks, check your UI Online homepage for the interview date and time, and certify on schedule. Those four things are basically the whole process.

Last thing worth mentioning for anyone reading - EDD also does identity verification through ID.me when you file online. Some people get a request called the DE 1326C asking them to verify. If you get that notice don't ignore it, it'll hold up your whole claim until it's done.

Filing my claim today after reading all this. For what it's worth, used Claimyr last month on a different issue - my Claim History was showing weeks as Pending with no explanation after I'd already done the phone interview. Got through to an EDD agent who looked up my account and told me there was still an identity verification step sitting open from when I first applied, and once I completed that the pending weeks cleared within a couple days.

One more thing worth flagging: if you do any part-time or gig work while on unemployment, you have to report those earnings when you certify. The good news is that up to $25 or 25% of what you earn in a week, whichever is bigger, doesn't count against you. Anything above that gets subtracted from your weekly benefit amount. So part-time work doesn't necessarily disqualify you from getting something — it just reduces the payment for that week.

Finished reading this whole thread — OP, you're in a genuinely okay position compared to a lot of situations people post about here. Clear layoff, full-time work for a year and a half, state ID in hand. Apply today through myEDD, do ID.me right away, watch for the DE 429Z and DE 8405 in the mail, register CalJOBS within 21 days, and certify every two weeks starting about two weeks after filing. That's the whole arc.

One more thing on the max amount question that hasn't come up: someone who used up a California UI claim can't start a new one until the 52-week benefit year ends. And even then, a new valid claim requires new base period wages — if no significant work happened between the old claim and trying to file again, there may not be enough wages to qualify. The $1,300 in a single quarter threshold applies each time.

Something the OP might be wondering about — the weekly benefit amount doesn't go up during the claim. Whatever number is on the DE 429Z when it arrives is locked in for the full benefit year. If wages went up in a new job and that job ends before the year is over, reopening the existing claim brings back the old weekly amount, not a new calculation. A new claim with a new base period would reflect the new wages, but only after the benefit year ends.