California Unemployment
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Can you get unemployment after a temporary job ends in California?
So I just finished up a temp assignment that lasted about 4 months through a staffing agency. The client company decided not to renew the contract and now I'm back to square one. I wasn't fired or anything — the assignment just ended. I'm trying to figure out if I'm even eligible to file for California EDD unemployment benefits in this situation because everywhere I look online it says you have to be 'laid off' and I'm not sure a temp job ending counts the same way. I worked full time the whole time, made decent money, so I should meet the wage requirements. But the staffing agency is already trying to assign me to another placement and I don't know if that affects my claim. Do I file against the staffing agency or the client company? Has anyone gone through this and actually gotten approved? Kind of panicking because I don't have another assignment lined up yet and rent is due in two weeks.
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What is the number for unemployment at California EDD?
I've been trying to get ahold of someone at California EDD and I genuinely cannot figure out what is the number for unemployment that actually works. I found like three different phone numbers on the website and tried all of them over the past week - one just rings forever, another dumps me into a phone tree where every option leads to a dead end, and the third plays a message saying they're experiencing high call volume and disconnects me. I'm not even asking about anything complicated, I just need to speak to an actual human being about my UI claim status because something looks off in my account but there's no explanation online. My claim has been sitting in 'pending' for going on two weeks and the UI Online portal just says to 'allow additional time for processing' which tells me absolutely nothing. Can someone please just tell me which phone number actually gets you through to a live person at California EDD? I'm losing my mind here.
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does anyone know what happens if you miss certifying while your claim is pending? i got so stressed out about everything that i forgot to certify for like 2 weeks
oh no okay doing this right now thank you
Also worth noting - missing certifications doesn't cancel your underlying claim but it can affect your payment timeline. Getting those certifications in ASAP is the right call.
Late to this thread but wanted to drop this for anyone who lands here from search: the California EDD unemployment phone number is 1-800-300-5616, M-F 8am-5pm. But the dirty secret is that knowing the number is only half the battle. The other half is actually getting through, which in 2025 often requires either strategic timing (early morning, mid-week) or using a callback service. Both approaches have worked for people in this thread. Don't give up - once you do get through to an actual EDD agent they're usually pretty helpful and can see everything on your account.
Right? The number is public knowledge. The actual strategy for navigating the system is what forums like this are for.
Can confirm - once I got through (used Claimyr as mentioned above, claimyr.com) the actual agent was super knowledgeable and helpful. It's just the getting through part that's the nightmare.
Can I get unemployment if I was terminated from my job in California?
So I got let go from my job at a logistics company about two weeks ago and I'm honestly not sure where I stand with unemployment benefits. My manager called me in and said they were letting me go due to 'performance issues' but honestly the whole situation felt really vague and I never received any written warnings. I worked there for almost four years. I went ahead and filed a claim with California EDD anyway because someone told me termination doesn't automatically disqualify you, but now I'm kind of freaking out because the claim is sitting in adjudication and I have no idea what that means or if I'm going to get anything. Did anyone else get terminated and still successfully get unemployment? What are my chances here?
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One more practical tip: if you do get denied and decide to appeal, you can request a copy of the information your employer submitted to EDD as part of the adjudication process. This is really helpful for preparing your appeal because you'll know exactly what claims you need to counter. You can request this through a written request to EDD or ask about it during the appeals process. Going in blind to an appeal is much harder than knowing what the employer actually said.
This whole thread has been incredibly informative. Thank you everyone. I feel like I actually understand the process now and know what to do regardless of which direction this goes.
Good luck! Come back and let us know how it turns out. Threads like this help other people who are searching for the same answers.
checking in to see if OP has any updates? been following this thread because im in a similar spot. terminated last week, claim filed, waiting on adjudication. anxiety is real lol
That timeline and process matches exactly what I went through. Strong signs. Keep certifying your weekly claims in the meantime!
Rooting for you! And if you ever need to follow up with EDD and can't get through on the phones, remember Claimyr at claimyr.com has been a lifesaver for people in exactly this situation. Hope you get good news soon.
How does unemployment pay you through California EDD?
I just filed my first unemployment claim with California EDD last week and honestly I have no idea what happens next in terms of actually getting paid. Like how does unemployment pay you exactly? Do they mail you a check or does it go directly to your bank account? I've been reading through the EDD website but it's kind of overwhelming and I can't figure out if I need to set something up or if it just happens automatically once my claim gets approved. I'm coming from a job in retail where I got laid off after 4 years so I've never had to deal with any of this before. Also I'm not even sure if I need to do the weekly certifications before I see any money or if the payment comes first. Any help would be appreciated because I'm already stressing about bills next month.
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Quick note for anyone reading this thread later - the biweekly certification window opens Sunday and closes Saturday. Most people certify on Sundays when it opens because payments process faster. If you wait until Thursday or Friday you might have to wait an extra business day or two for payment. Not a huge deal but worth knowing if timing matters for bills.
Sunday morning is actually high traffic and UI Online can be slow. Sunday evening or even Monday morning is just as good and usually a bit faster on the website.
I always do mine Sunday night, never had issues with slow loading personally
Update for everyone who helped - I logged into UI Online and found my first certification date, my WBA is showing, and I found the direct deposit setup in the payment options section. I've linked my bank account and my first certification opens in 3 days. Feeling a lot less panicked now. The waiting week thing is annoying but at least I understand it now. Thank you all genuinely, this thread answered basically every question I had and more.
Best of luck, hope everything goes smoothly. And now you know about Claimyr if you ever hit a snag and need to reach EDD directly.
you've got this, once you get in the rhythm of the biweekly certifications it becomes pretty automatic
Can a business owner collect unemployment in California EDD?
So I recently shut down my small landscaping business after about four years of running it solo with a couple of part-time employees. The work just dried up — lost two big commercial contracts back to back and couldn't keep things afloat. I've been paying into unemployment through my payroll for years and never thought twice about it. Now that I'm on the other side of things, I'm genuinely wondering: can a business owner collect unemployment through California EDD? I know I was classified as a sole proprietor and was the owner-operator. I did pay myself a W-2 wage though, not just owner draws. My employees always had UI deducted from their checks, and I treated my own paycheck the same way. Does that matter? I tried looking this up on the EDD website but the language is super confusing — it talks about 'covered employment' but doesn't clearly say whether that includes business owners who paid themselves wages. Has anyone else gone through something similar? Did you actually manage to file a claim and get approved, or did EDD deny you because of the ownership thing? I really need some income while I figure out what's next.
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UPDATE FROM OP (kind of): I called EDD today using Claimyr after seeing recommendations in this thread and actually got through to an agent within about an hour and a half. The agent was able to pull up my employer account and confirmed that my payroll service had NOT been remitting UI contributions on my wages as the owner — apparently they had flagged me as an excluded sole proprietor from day one. So regular UI is almost certainly off the table for me. HOWEVER, the agent told me to file anyway and list my staffing agency W-2 wages from 14 months ago because those are definitely covered wages and might be enough to establish a claim based on JUST those wages. Going to file tomorrow and see what base period calculation comes out to. Really appreciate everyone's help in this thread.
The Claimyr route was definitely worth it for getting a concrete answer quickly. Hope the claim goes through based on those wages!
keep us updated!! curious how this turns out
For anyone finding this thread later: the California EDD rules around business owner unemployment are genuinely complicated and vary by business structure. The short version: - Sole proprietors: almost always excluded unless you have other covered W-2 employment - Partnership partners: usually excluded - Corporate officers with proper payroll + UI tax remittance: potentially eligible - LLC members: depends on tax classification and payroll setup Always verify your UI contribution history with EDD before assuming you qualify OR don't qualify. The answer isn't always what you expect, and the only way to know for sure is to look at the actual records.
Agreed, this plus the DE 9 explanation earlier are the two most useful things I got from this whole discussion. Thank you everyone.
came back to say my claim based on the staffing wages was approved! benefit amount is lower than it would've been if my business wages counted but getting something is infinitely better than getting nothing. the base period did include those wages and EDD processed it without adjudication since there was no ownership question for those particular wages. thanks to everyone who helped.
StellarSurfer
Also just to be thorough — make sure you register with CalJOBS (caljobs.ca.gov) in your first week if California EDD tells you to. Some claimants get a notice about it, some don't depending on their situation. If you get that notice and ignore it, it can pause your benefits. It's pretty quick to set up, like 20 minutes.
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StellarSurfer
Do it today if you can! EDD gives you a deadline and missing it creates headaches.
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Anastasia Romanov
yeah caljobs is one of those things nobody warns you about and then people are surprised when their payments stop
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Luca Greco
Three weeks into my claim now from when I started this thread (different situation than OP). Payments finally started coming through after being stuck for two weeks. For anyone following this thread — if your payments stall, don't wait more than 10 days before trying to contact EDD. I learned that lesson the hard way. Ended up using that Claimyr service people were talking about upthread and actually got an agent who fixed a verification issue on my account same day.
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Luca Greco
The system is aggravating but it does work eventually. Just stay on top of it and don't let things sit unresolved.
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Zara Malik
good to hear a success story, gives me hope for mine
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