I'm so sorry you're dealing with this impossible situation! I went through the exact same PFL phone hell three months ago when my son was born. After reading through all these amazing suggestions, I want to add one more strategy that worked for me: try calling on Friday afternoons around 3:30 PM. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I think fewer people are calling then because everyone assumes it's a bad time. Also, when you do get the "high call volume" message, don't hang up immediately - sometimes if you wait through the entire message and press 0 or stay on the line, it will occasionally put you in an actual queue. It happened to me once by accident and I got through after a 2-hour hold. The system is absolutely broken and it's criminal that new parents have to deal with this stress when we should be focusing on our babies. Keep trying all these methods - the persistence will pay off eventually! And definitely contact your assembly member if the phone attempts don't work. You've got this! 💪

I went through this exact same torture with PFL about 6 months ago! Literally felt like I was losing my sanity calling hundreds of times a day. What finally broke through for me was calling the Spanish language line (even though I don't speak Spanish) - when they answered I just said "English please" and they transferred me to an English-speaking PFL rep. The Spanish line seemed to have way shorter wait times. Also try the TTY/TDD line if you're really desperate - sometimes those have different call volumes too. I know it sounds crazy but when you're dealing with medical bills piling up and a newborn, you try EVERYTHING. The system is absolutely designed to make people give up, but don't let them win! Keep a call log with times and what happened - if you end up needing to escalate to your assembly member, they'll want to see documentation of how many times you tried. You WILL get through eventually, I promise! The actual reps are helpful once you reach them, it's just this nightmare phone system that's the problem. Stay strong! 🙏

Update: I spoke with my primary care doctor yesterday and she agrees with my therapist that I need to take time off. She suggested I try SDI first as a medical leave rather than quitting outright. She's filling out the paperwork today. This seems like a much better option than quitting and trying to get unemployment. Thank you all for the help and suggestions!

So glad to hear you found a better path forward with SDI! I went through something similar a couple years ago and the medical leave route really saved me. Just a heads up - make sure to keep copies of all the paperwork your doctor submits, and don't be surprised if SDI asks for additional documentation during the review process. They were pretty thorough with my case but ultimately approved it. Hope you get the time you need to recover properly. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as physical health!

I went through something really similar when my company downsized last year. One thing that saved me a lot of stress was calling EDD early on to get clarity about my specific situation rather than trying to guess from their website. The key insight I got from speaking with a rep was understanding the difference between "weeks claimed" vs "benefit amount used." Even though you're using one of your 26 available weeks each time you certify and receive partial benefits, you're not using your full weekly benefit amount - so your total benefit balance lasts longer. Also, since you mentioned your part-time job is only 20 hours at 40% of your previous salary, you'll almost certainly qualify for partial benefits for quite a while. Just make sure when you certify every two weeks that you report your gross earnings for the weeks you actually worked (not when you got paid). One practical tip: I found it helpful to screenshot my certification confirmations each time, just in case there were ever any questions about what I reported. The EDD system can be glitchy and having that backup documentation gave me peace of mind. You're in a much better position than you might think - partial unemployment while working part-time is actually a pretty decent safety net while you're looking for something better!

I'm in almost the exact same boat as you! Got laid off in February when my company went under and just started a part-time gig two weeks ago. The timing confusion was driving me crazy too. From what I've learned (and confirmed with an EDD rep), your benefit year starts the Sunday of the week you filed, but you only "use" weeks when you actually receive benefits. So if you have a week where you earn too much and don't get any UI payment, that week doesn't count against your 26. The partial benefits thing is actually pretty generous - I'm working about 25 hours a week making roughly half my old salary, and I'm still getting about $180/week in partial UI. The key is reporting your GROSS earnings for the week you worked (not when you get paid), and EDD does the calculation automatically. One thing that's been super helpful is keeping a simple log of my hours and earnings each week. Makes certification way less stressful when I have everything written down already. Also seconding the recommendation about Claimyr if you need to talk to someone - I used it last month and actually got through to a helpful rep who walked me through exactly how my partial benefits would work. Honestly, this setup has been way less terrible than I expected. Having some income from work plus partial UI is giving me breathing room to be picky about my next full-time job instead of just taking the first thing that comes along.

As a former sub who went through this exact situation, I want to emphasize something that might ease your stress: the EDD reps are actually pretty knowledgeable about the substitute teacher situation since it comes up every summer. When I finally got through (took me 3 days of calling), the rep immediately knew the rules and was very helpful. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - you can actually start preparing your application now by gathering all your documents. Make sure you have your Social Security card, ID, and most recent pay stub ready. Also, if you're in multiple districts, you'll need wage information from ALL of them. The waiting period was the hardest part for me mentally, but once approved, the payments were retroactive to when I first became unemployed. So even if there's a delay in processing, you won't lose out on benefits you're entitled to. Hang in there - you've got this! Summer unemployment as a sub is totally legitimate and you shouldn't feel guilty about it.

I just wanted to jump in and share some encouragement for everyone going through this process! I'm a sub in my second year and successfully collected benefits last summer. The guilt is real - I felt the same way at first, but remember that unemployment insurance exists specifically for situations like ours where work is temporary and unpredictable. A few practical tips that helped me: - Start your application the Monday after your last assignment (don't wait for the weekend) - When they ask about job search activities, include things like updating your resume, creating online profiles, and networking - not just formal applications - If you get stuck in phone queues, try calling right at 8am when they open - I had better luck then The whole process took about 5 weeks for me from application to first payment, but like others mentioned, it was backdated so I didn't lose any money. The eligibility interview was actually pretty quick - maybe 15 minutes of basic questions about my work situation. You're not gaming the system - you're using a benefit that's designed exactly for workers in your situation. The fact that you're being so careful and thorough about following the rules shows you're doing this the right way!

I had a similar issue a few weeks ago! What worked for me was making sure I was using Chrome (not Safari or Firefox) and temporarily disabling my ad blocker. Also, check if your pop-up blocker is on - sometimes the verification window gets blocked. If you're still having trouble, try doing it during off-peak hours like early morning or late evening when the system isn't as overloaded. The whole process is definitely frustrating but hang in there!

I've been dealing with this exact same issue! What finally worked for me was logging out completely, clearing my browser cache, and then logging back in using a fresh incognito/private browsing window. Also make sure you're not using any VPN or proxy - CalJobs seems to flag those as suspicious. The account verification is super sensitive to any inconsistencies, so double-check that your name is entered exactly as it appears on your ID (including middle initials, hyphens, etc.). If you uploaded any documents before, try deleting them and re-uploading with different file names. Sometimes their system gets confused by special characters or long file names. Good luck!