That's fantastic news that you got through to EDD and they released your payments! What a relief after all that stress and uncertainty. Your experience really highlights how important it is to be proactive about following up once you win an appeal - it sounds like those payments might have sat in limbo indefinitely if you hadn't called. I'm new to this community but have been lurking and reading everyone's stories while dealing with my own EDD issues. Your thread has been incredibly helpful in understanding the appeals timeline and what to expect. The fact that you got your decision in exactly 7 business days and then got your payments released the very next day after calling gives me a realistic roadmap for my own situation. It's so frustrating that EDD's system doesn't automatically process favorable appeal decisions, but at least there are people like you sharing what actually works to get things moving. Congratulations again on your victory - you clearly had a strong case with that 60% hour reduction, and I'm glad the judge recognized it for what it really was. Thanks for keeping us all updated throughout this journey!

This is such an incredible success story! Congratulations on winning your appeal and getting your payments released so quickly! 🎉 As someone who just discovered this community while dealing with my own EDD nightmare, reading through your entire journey from the initial hearing to getting paid has been incredibly informative and inspiring. Your case with the 60% hour reduction being classified as "voluntary quit" is exactly the kind of wrongful denial that seems to plague EDD's system. The fact that you meticulously documented everything and the judge saw right through EDD's weak arguments gives me so much hope for others facing similar situations. What really stands out to me is how proactive you were about calling EDD immediately after getting your favorable decision. It's ridiculous that their system doesn't automatically process appeal victories, but your experience shows that being persistent really pays off. Getting through on your third try and having the rep manually release your payments within hours is exactly the kind of outcome everyone here is hoping for. Thank you for taking the time to update this thread throughout your entire process - from the initial anxiety about waiting for the decision, to celebrating the victory, to successfully getting your payments released. Your timeline of 7 business days for the decision and next-day payment release after calling provides such valuable insight for others navigating this broken system. Stories like yours make this community so valuable for people fighting these wrongful denials!

Final advice from someone who's been through this: if you're hitting caller limits regularly, you're probably better off with an automated solution. I wasted 3 weeks learning all these calling tricks when I could have been done in one day.

I've been experiencing the exact same thing! After about 120-130 attempts in one day, I start getting those weird immediate disconnects instead of the normal busy signals. It's definitely some kind of daily limit per phone number. What's frustrating is that EDD doesn't publish this information anywhere, so we're all just figuring it out through trial and error. I've started keeping a call log and noticed the pattern resets each morning around 8am PT. Might be worth trying a different phone number or switching to one of those callback services everyone's mentioning if you keep hitting the wall.

Final summary of what actually works: Wednesday/Thursday 2-3pm, avoid lunch (12-1:30pm), avoid Monday mornings, avoid Friday afternoons, and budget 3+ hours for the whole process. Or pay someone to do it for you.

This thread is gold! I've been doing everything wrong - calling Monday mornings, trying during lunch, giving up after 20 attempts. No wonder I haven't gotten through in 2 weeks. Going to try the Wednesday 2-3pm strategy tomorrow and actually budget the full day for it. Really appreciate everyone sharing their hard-earned wisdom here. The Claimyr option is also looking tempting if the manual approach fails again.

Connor, I've been following this thread and I'm so glad to see how much helpful information everyone has shared! As someone who went through a similar situation with my consulting business a couple years ago, I wanted to add one more resource that really helped me - the California Employment Development Department actually has a Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP) in some areas, though it's pretty limited and not well-publicized. It's designed to help people start businesses while receiving UI benefits, but sometimes they have resources for existing self-employed folks facing hardship too. Also, don't overlook your local community colleges - many have small business development programs, free workshops on marketing/networking, and sometimes even emergency assistance funds for students (you might qualify if you take even one class). The fact that you're being so proactive about exploring all these options shows you're going to bounce back from this. Keep that positive momentum going!

Connor, this thread has become an amazing resource! I wanted to add one more thing that might help with your immediate cash flow situation. If you have any design work samples or a portfolio, consider reaching out to local print shops, marketing agencies, and even nonprofit organizations - many of them need freelance design help but don't always know where to find reliable designers. Sometimes they'll give you smaller, quick-turnaround projects that can provide some income while you're rebuilding your main client base. Also, check out websites like 99designs, Upwork, or Fiverr if you haven't already - I know the pay isn't always great, but it can help bridge the gap while you're waiting for benefit approvals and pursuing the other resources everyone mentioned. You might also want to reach out to your local Chamber of Commerce - they often have member directories and networking opportunities that could lead to new connections. Hang in there, and thanks for asking this question - I'm sure your situation will help other self-employed folks who find themselves in similar spots!

I went through this exact same nightmare a few months ago! What finally worked for me was a combination of things: first, I made sure to use an incognito/private browser window, then I went directly to the official EDD website (edd.ca.gov) instead of clicking through search results. Also, if you're on mobile, try switching to desktop - their mobile site is even buggier than the regular one. One thing that's not obvious is that if you have any browser extensions running (especially ad blockers or password managers), they can sometimes interfere with the login process. Try disabling them temporarily. And like others mentioned, definitely wait the full 24 hours if you think your account might be locked from too many attempts. The system is frustrating but these steps got me back in. Hang in there! 💪

Been dealing with EDD login issues on and off for months now. One thing that helped me recently was making sure my browser is fully updated - sounds basic but EDD's site seems really picky about browser versions. Also try using Chrome if you're not already, seems to work better than Safari or Firefox in my experience. And if you're still stuck after trying all the suggestions here, there's actually a "Technical Support" option buried in their contact section that's separate from the main customer service line. Takes forever to get through but they can actually help with login-specific problems. Good luck! 🤞