To summarize what you should do: 1. Continue certifying for benefits every two weeks without interruption 2. Report the $10,000 payment in the week you actually receive it (not when you do the procedure) 3. Report it under "other income" and briefly describe it as medical research compensation 4. Keep all documentation related to the payment 5. Your benefits will pause only for that specific week 6. Benefits should automatically resume for subsequent weeks when you have no income If for some reason your benefits don't resume automatically after the week you report the income, then you may need to contact EDD directly to sort it out.

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who recently went through something similar. I received a $3,200 payment for participating in a week-long clinical trial last summer. I reported it as "other income" during certification and my benefits were paused for that one week only. The key thing is to be completely honest and transparent - EDD has ways of finding out about unreported income later, and the penalties for not reporting can be severe (they can make you pay back benefits plus interest and fees). Also, make sure you understand exactly when you're receiving the payment vs when you're doing the procedure - you report it for the week you actually get the money, not necessarily when you do the study. Good luck with everything!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you keep detailed records of everything! Save copies of your settlement agreement, any correspondence with EDD about it, and document all phone calls (date, time, rep name if possible). If there are any issues later, having a paper trail will help resolve them much faster. I learned this the hard way when EDD mixed up my case details and I had to prove what was actually discussed in previous calls. Also, don't stress too much about this - wrongful termination settlements are pretty common and EDD deals with them regularly. As long as you're upfront about it and provide the proper documentation, they'll work with you to sort it out correctly.

Just want to add my experience from last year - I received a settlement for wrongful termination while on unemployment and it was less complicated than I expected. The most important thing is getting that breakdown document from your lawyer showing what's wages vs other damages. In my case, about 60% was considered back wages and affected my UI benefits for those specific weeks, but the rest (punitive damages and attorney fees) didn't count against unemployment at all. EDD was actually pretty reasonable once I provided the proper documentation. One tip: when you call EDD, have your settlement agreement ready and ask to speak with a specialist who handles legal settlements. The regular reps sometimes give conflicting info, but the specialists know exactly how to categorize different types of settlement payments. Good luck with everything!

I'm new to this community but currently dealing with a very similar situation! I just got offered a research stipend position at a local community college and was completely lost about EDD reporting until I found this thread. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly enlightening - I had no idea about the weekly calculation method or that stipends are always reportable regardless of what they're called. One question I have that I don't think was fully addressed - does it matter if the research work is part-time vs full-time in terms of how EDD treats the stipend income? My position is only 15 hours per week but the monthly stipend is $600. I'm wondering if the lower time commitment affects anything about the reporting process or benefit calculations. Also, for those who have successfully navigated this - did you find that EDD representatives were generally knowledgeable about stipend situations, or did you have to explain the situation multiple times to different people? I'm planning to call next week but want to be prepared in case I need to advocate for myself. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is amazing for navigating these complex situations!

I'm dealing with a research stipend situation myself and this thread has been incredibly helpful! One thing I wanted to add based on my recent conversation with an EDD supervisor - they mentioned that research stipends from educational institutions are among the most commonly misreported types of income, usually because people assume "stipend" means it's not wages. The supervisor emphasized that EDD's definition of reportable income is very broad and includes ANY compensation received for work or services, regardless of the terminology used by the paying organization. She also told me something interesting - when you report stipend income consistently and properly document it as "research stipend" in the other income field, it actually creates a positive record on your claim that shows you're being transparent and following the rules correctly. This can be helpful if you ever need to deal with EDD again in the future. For anyone still feeling uncertain about this - I've been reporting my $750/month university research stipend for four months now using the weekly calculation method (~$173/week) and it's been completely smooth. My benefits are reduced but I still receive partial payments, and most importantly, I have complete peace of mind knowing I'm doing everything correctly. The key is just being consistent and transparent with your reporting!

I just received my RESEA appointment notice this week and was feeling really overwhelmed until I discovered this amazing thread! Reading through everyone's real experiences has been such a relief - I went from panicking about potential "gotcha questions" to actually feeling prepared and even curious about what resources they might share. It's incredible how different the reality sounds (supportive career counseling session) compared to what I was imagining (intimidating benefit eligibility interrogation). I'm definitely following the tried-and-true advice that keeps appearing: completing the form beforehand, preparing a basic list of recent job applications with company/position/date info, and approaching it as a helpful conversation rather than a test to pass. The consistent theme of people getting valuable job search tips and learning about resources they didn't know about is really encouraging. Special thanks to everyone who came back to update us after their appointments - those follow-up posts from people like Sergio, Fatima, Daniel, and others have been incredibly valuable for newcomers like me. This is exactly the kind of peer support that makes navigating these systems so much less intimidating!

I just got my RESEA appointment notice in the mail today and immediately started searching online for what to expect - so glad I found this thread! As someone who's completely new to the unemployment system, I was honestly pretty scared when I saw that official notice. But reading through everyone's real experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. It's amazing how the actual reality (supportive, helpful, focused on providing resources) is so different from what I was initially imagining (scary interrogation trying to find reasons to cut benefits). The consistent pattern of positive experiences from people like Sergio, Fatima, Daniel, and all the others who shared their stories is really encouraging. I'm definitely going to follow the advice that keeps coming up: fill out that form completely before the appointment, prepare a list of recent job applications with basic details like company names and dates, and just be honest about my job search efforts. The fact that so many people mentioned getting valuable job search tips and learning about resources they didn't even know existed is actually making me look forward to the appointment now. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their real experiences - this kind of peer support makes these bureaucratic processes so much less intimidating for newcomers like me!

So lucky you got someone helpful! Last time I called the person just told me to keep waiting 😡

Congrats on getting through! That's awesome that the rep was able to approve your documents right away. I'm dealing with the same issue - uploaded my address verification docs 12 days ago and still pending. Your success story gives me hope! I'm definitely going to try calling at 8:01am tomorrow. Did you have to provide any additional information when you spoke with them, or did they just look at what you'd already uploaded?