California Unemployment
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Why is unemployment a problem for my California EDD claim and benefits?
I've been trying to wrap my head around why unemployment itself keeps creating so many problems when you're actually trying to collect benefits through California EDD. Like I lost my job at a warehouse distribution center about six weeks ago - totally not my fault, company did a mass layoff - and what should have been a straightforward UI claim has turned into this nightmare of confusion and delays. My claim sat in adjudication for two weeks with zero explanation. Then I got a notice saying there was an 'issue' with my eligibility but it didn't say what the issue was. I've been filing my weekly certifications correctly, reporting zero wages because I genuinely have zero wages, doing my three job search activities per week and logging them in CalJOBS like required. So why is unemployment such a constant problem to navigate? Is the system designed to be this confusing or am I missing something fundamental about how California EDD works?
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Can I file for California EDD unemployment if I have two jobs and lost one?
So I'm in kind of a weird situation and can't find a clear answer anywhere online. I was working two jobs simultaneously - a full-time position at a logistics company and a part-time gig at a retail store on weekends. Last month the logistics company laid off my entire department with basically no warning, so now I only have the part-time retail income coming in which is nowhere near enough to cover my bills. Can I file for California EDD unemployment if I still have one of my two jobs? I wasn't sure if having any employment at all disqualifies you from filing. I've been scared to even submit a claim because I don't want to accidentally commit fraud or get hit with an overpayment notice later. Does the fact that I'm still earning SOME money mean I can't collect benefits? Really stressed about this and any help would be appreciated.
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OP did you end up filing yet? curious how it went for you
hoping for a quick approval for you. sounds like you did everything right
You did the right thing by being transparent about both jobs from the start. That gives your claim the best chance of processing without issues. Good luck!
For anyone else who finds this thread while searching about two-job unemployment situations - the short version is yes you can absolutely file for California EDD unemployment if you still have one job. File a partial claim, report both employers, report your part-time wages honestly every week, and keep up with your job search activities. If you run into any issues or get stuck in adjudication and can't get answers from EDD, claimyr.com has been the most reliable way I've seen to actually reach a live EDD agent without the phone nightmare. Good luck everyone
the job search requirement with partial claims is the thing that catches people off guard most i think. dont forget you still gotta do your 3 activities per week
Thank you to everyone in this thread seriously. I felt so lost when I posted this and now I actually understand what I'm doing. Really grateful for this community.
How long does California EDD take to approve unemployment after you file?
So I submitted my initial unemployment claim about 10 days ago and I'm sitting here completely in the dark about how long this whole approval process actually takes. I've been checking my UI Online account obsessively but it still just shows 'pending' with zero explanation. My last day of work was two weeks ago and the bills aren't exactly waiting around for EDD to get their act together. A little background: I was laid off from my job in the logistics industry, no misconduct or anything shady, just a straight up reduction in force. My employer already confirmed they got the separation notice from EDD so that part seems fine. I've been filing my weekly certifications every Sunday like I'm supposed to and logging my three job search activities per week in my CalJOBS account. What I can't figure out is whether this 'pending' status means I'm in adjudication or if it's just normal processing time. The EDD website says 3-5 weeks but I've seen people online saying it took them way longer. Is there any way to actually find out where my claim stands without spending 6 hours on hold? Getting pretty anxious about this whole thing.
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Not sure if this is helpful but I tracked the exact timeline of my recent claim in case it's useful data: Day 1: filed initial claim online. Day 3: received ID.me verification prompt, completed same day. Day 8: received DE 1101CZ notice in my mail copy. Day 15: UI Online still showing pending, no updates. Day 19: received a phone call from EDD (did not answer, they left no voicemail, this is peak EDD). Day 21: approved. Day 22: first payment deposited. No adjudication, no issues, standard layoff. 22 days total from filing to payment. The mystery call on day 19 that they left no voicemail for remains unexplained.
I've gotten those calls too. I think it's an automated system that connects you to an agent if you pick up, but if you don't answer it just disconnects and they move on. Infuriating when you're waiting on news.
this is why i always pick up unknown numbers during pending status. learned that lesson the hard way first time i filed
For anyone who is hitting the 3+ week mark with no resolution, here's a practical checklist of things to verify before assuming your claim is just delayed: 1. Check your UI Online account for any messages or action items you might have missed - sometimes EDD sends requests for information that get buried 2. Check your physical mail - EDD still sends a lot of notices by mail and they don't always send corresponding email alerts 3. Verify your ID.me status is fully complete, not just initiated 4. Check that your contact information (phone, address, email) is current in your UI Online profile 5. Make sure all your weekly certifications have actually submitted successfully - the system sometimes shows a confirmation that doesn't actually go through 6. Review your initial claim application for any questions you might have answered in a way that could trigger review If all of those check out and you're past 3 weeks, escalating to an actual phone conversation with an agent is your best next step.
Saving this checklist. This is the kind of thing EDD should just send to everyone who files but obviously that would be too helpful.
I wish I had seen something like this when I first filed. Would have caught the ID.me issue much earlier.
How long do you have to be employed for unemployment in California EDD?
So I just got laid off from my restaurant job last week and I'm trying to figure out if I even qualify for unemployment benefits. I only worked there for about 8 months before the location closed down. Before that I had a gap of almost 5 months where I wasn't working at all. I'm honestly not sure how California EDD calculates whether you've been employed long enough to qualify. Do they look at how many months you worked? Total hours? I've heard people say you need a certain amount of wages in a 'base period' but I don't really understand what that means. Does my previous job from over a year ago even count toward anything? I filed a claim online already but now I'm second-guessing whether I'll actually be approved or if I wasted my time. Anyone who's gone through this and can explain how the employment duration requirement actually works for California EDD unemployment would really help me out right now.
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omg I literally just went through this EXACT situation, laid off from food service after 8 months, panicked about qualifying. filed my claim on a Tuesday approved by Thursday the following week. no adjudication nothing. sometimes it just goes smoothly!! good luck OP
just filed honestly. made sure all my employer info was correct and answered all the questions carefully. that's it
These success stories are so needed in these threads lol everyone always posts the nightmare scenarios
Final thought - once you're approved make absolutely sure you understand the job search requirements. You need to document 3 job search activities per week and California EDD can audit this. I know people who got approved and then got hit with an overpayment notice later because they hadn't been keeping the required job search log. It's not hard to do, just easy to forget if nobody told you about it.
Correct - California currently requires 3 job search activities per week. These can include submitting applications, attending job fairs, doing employment agency interviews, or several other qualifying activities. You'll also need a CalJOBS account registered within 21 days of filing which is where EDD tracks some of this.
CalJOBS is new to me too - I have a lot to learn about this process. Thank you all so much, this thread has been genuinely helpful.
Will I get unemployment if I was fired from my job in California?
So I got fired from my warehouse job last Tuesday and I honestly don't know what to do next. My supervisor said it was for 'performance issues' but I genuinely feel like the whole situation was blown out of proportion and I was never given a real chance to fix anything. Nobody sat me down with a proper warning or gave me a performance improvement plan or anything like that - it just kind of happened suddenly. I filed a claim with California EDD like two days after I was let go because I need income ASAP - rent is due in three weeks and I have zero savings buffer. But now I'm freaking out reading stuff online saying that if you get fired you automatically get denied or that EDD will side with the employer no matter what. Is that actually true?? I've heard terms like 'misconduct disqualification' being thrown around and I have no clue if that applies to my situation. I didn't steal anything, didn't show up drunk, didn't get into a fight - I literally just apparently wasn't hitting production targets that I didn't even know existed until after the fact. Has anyone been through something like this and actually gotten approved? Really need some honest answers here.
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one more thing - check your myEDD account religiously. like every single day. EDD sometimes sends notices with very short response windows and if you miss them your claim gets automatically denied or delayed. I missed a notice once because it went to spam in my email AND I wasn't checking my myEDD portal. cost me like 2 extra weeks of processing time.
oh good catch! the ID.me verification is super important and often holds things up if not done early
Yeah ID.me verification is a big one. A lot of claims sit in limbo just because people don't realize they need to complete that step. Glad you caught it early.
UPDATE: for anyone who finds this thread later - I'm the original poster. It's been about 5 weeks since I posted this. I got a notice from California EDD last week saying my claim was APPROVED. They determined my termination did not constitute misconduct under California UI code 1256. My employer apparently just submitted a brief statement that didn't really establish any intentional wrongdoing on my part. Things that I think helped: responding to the DE 4800 questionnaire thoroughly and factually within a few days of receiving it, completing the ID.me verification quickly, and filing my weekly certifications every single week even when I didn't know if I'd be approved. Got my first payment yesterday which included all the back weeks. Still not fully caught up financially but getting there. Thank you to everyone in this thread.
seeing this update as someone still waiting on mine - gives me real hope. congratulations!!
Congrats!! Thanks for coming back to update, that's genuinely helpful for everyone who finds this thread later going through the same thing.
Mia Alvarez
Something I wish I'd known: if you get a disqualification or denial you don't understand, you can request an administrative law judge hearing as part of the appeal process. It sounds scary but these hearings are actually relatively informal and claimants win a substantial portion of appeals when they show up prepared. California EDD denials are not the final word.
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Mia Alvarez
Having documentation of your separation (offer letters, termination letters, emails, pay stubs), understanding what specific rule EDD says you violated, and being able to explain your side clearly. The ALJ is a neutral party not an EDD employee - they actually do consider both sides.
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Amelia Cartwright
I had an ALJ hearing and won. The EDD rep on the call actually didn't show up so the judge ruled in my favor by default lol. But yes the hearings are worth doing.
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Carter Holmes
Been following this thread all day and it's genuinely one of the most useful unemployment discussions I've seen online. Wanted to add one last practical note: whatever happens with your claim, keep records of EVERYTHING. Screenshot your UI Online status pages with dates. Keep copies of every document you submit. Note the date, time, and name of every EDD rep you speak with. This documentation protects you if there's ever a dispute about what was communicated or when you took action. Learned this the hard way after an overpayment dispute where I had no proof of what I'd been told.
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Carter Holmes
Also - if an EDD rep tells you something important on the phone, follow up with a written message through UI Online summarizing what they told you. Creates a paper trail that protects you later.
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Ryan Andre
taking notes on all of this, thank you to everyone in this thread
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