Hey Ella, congratulations on your game show win! That's so exciting! I'm actually going through a similar situation right now - I'm on unemployment and just found out I won a contest prize worth $3,800 that I'll receive in January. Reading through all the responses here has been incredibly helpful for my situation too! I wanted to add one small thing that might be useful - when you eventually do your certification in 2025 and report the game show winnings, take a screenshot of your completed certification form before you submit it. I learned this the hard way when EDD's system glitched on me a few months ago and I lost all record of what I had reported. Having that screenshot saved me hours of headaches when I had to explain the situation to an EDD rep later. Also, based on what everyone's saying about the manual review process for large amounts, you might want to certify earlier in your certification window rather than waiting until the last minute. That way if there are any delays or questions, you'll have more time to resolve them before the next certification period. Thanks for asking this question - it's helped me figure out my own situation! Hope everything goes smoothly for you when you get your winnings!

Hey Ella! Congrats on the amazing win! 🎉 I've been following this thread and wanted to add something that might help based on my experience with EDD's income reporting. Everyone's given you excellent advice about waiting until you actually receive the money in 2025 and reporting it as "Other Income." One thing I'd suggest is also keeping a copy of the game show episode when it airs - sounds silly, but it's additional proof of the legitimacy of your winnings if EDD ever questions the source. I had a similar situation with a radio contest win and the EDD rep actually asked me for "proof of how the income was earned" during their review process. Also, since you mentioned you've been unemployed since August, this timing actually works out well for you - by February 2025 you might be in a completely different employment situation anyway, so the one-week benefit reduction might not even matter much by then. You're being so proactive about this whole thing, which is exactly the right approach with EDD. Better to have all your ducks in a row than get caught off guard! Best of luck with everything, and enjoy that win when it comes!

I'm in a similar boat - my company just announced they're closing in 6 weeks and I'm trying to wrap my head around all this too. From what I'm reading here, it sounds like the main takeaway is to file immediately after your last day regardless of severance, but be prepared to report every severance payment which will likely zero out your benefits temporarily. One thing I'm still confused about - if we're getting severance paid out over multiple weeks, do we need to keep certifying every two weeks even though we know we won't get any UI benefits during that time? It seems like the answer is yes based on what everyone's saying, but I want to make sure I don't accidentally mess up my claim by not certifying during the severance period. Also, has anyone dealt with a situation where the company hasn't finalized the severance details yet? They keep saying "we'll let you know" but time is running out and I need to plan my finances. Should I be pushing HR harder for specifics?

I just went through this exact scenario when my retail job ended due to store closure in December. Here's what worked for me: File your UI claim the day after your last work day - don't wait! Your benefit year starts when you file, not when you receive payments. During the weeks you receive severance, you'll report it as "other income" and select "severance pay" from the dropdown during certification. This will likely result in $0 UI benefits for those weeks, but your claim stays active. The tricky part is the certification questions - they don't explicitly say "severance" so look for "Did you receive any other type of income?" and be sure to report only the amount you received during that specific 2-week certification period, not your total severance. Keep certifying every two weeks even when getting $0 benefits! I cannot stress this enough - skipping certifications can permanently mess up your claim. Once your severance payments end, your full UI benefits should automatically resume. Start documenting everything NOW: get your severance agreement in writing, keep records of payment amounts/dates, and clarify with HR whether it's true severance or "pay in lieu of notice" as this affects EDD processing. One last tip: continue your job search activities even during severance weeks. EDD still requires this and I've seen people get disqualified for not maintaining job search records during their severance period. The whole process was smoother than I expected once I understood the system. Good luck!

I'm also waiting for the direct deposit option and this thread has been super helpful! One thing I wanted to add for anyone dealing with the Money Network card in the meantime - if you need to transfer money from the card to your personal bank account, you can do it through the Money Network mobile app or website for free (though it takes 1-3 business days). There's also an option for instant transfer but that comes with a fee. I've been using this method to move my unemployment payments to my main checking account so I can pay bills and manage my finances normally while waiting for direct deposit access. It's not as convenient as direct deposit but it beats having to withdraw cash from ATMs all the time. Just make sure to link your bank account in the Money Network app first - the verification process takes a day or two.

I've been following this thread closely since I'm in the exact same situation as the original poster. Just wanted to add that I called the EDD customer service line yesterday (after waiting 2.5 hours on hold) and the rep confirmed what everyone here has been saying - the direct deposit rollout is happening in phases and there's no way to expedite access for your account. She also mentioned that they're prioritizing accounts that have been active the longest, so if you're a newer claimant like me (just approved last month), we'll likely be in one of the later batches. The rep suggested checking your UI Online account every Monday since that's when they typically push out the updates to new batches of accounts. One more thing - she warned me that there have been some phishing emails going around claiming to be from EDD about direct deposit setup. The legitimate notification will ONLY come through your UI Online message center and your registered email address, and it will never ask you to click links to set up banking info. Just be careful out there!

One more thing that might be helpful - you should also register with CalJOBS (www.caljobs.ca.gov) if you haven't already. It's California's job search website, and registering there is technically part of the work search requirements. It also has some decent job listings that might help with your work search activities.

I went through this exact same confusion when I first got my EDD letter! Just to add to what everyone else has said - that Customer Account Number is also what they'll ask for if you ever need to reset your UI Online password or if there are any technical issues with your account. I had to use mine when the system locked me out after too many login attempts. But for day-to-day use like certification, you won't need it at all. Good luck with your first certification on Sunday - you've got this!

Just wanted to add one more important point that I learned the hard way - when you're dealing with EDD penalty weeks and overpayments, make sure to keep certifying for benefits even during your penalty period! I know it seems pointless since you're not getting paid, but if you stop certifying, they can actually extend your penalty period or create additional issues with your claim. Also, regarding the earnings reporting confusion that started all this - EDD's system is notoriously bad at handling part-time work transitions. I've seen so many cases where people get hit with "false statement" penalties simply because EDD's automated system can't properly process earnings that span multiple certification periods or when someone starts/stops a job mid-period. The fact that you're willing to take responsibility and pay back any legitimate overpayment shows this was clearly an honest mistake, not fraud. The "false statement" classification should be reserved for intentional deception, not clerical errors or system confusion. Definitely push for that reclassification to "non-fault overpayment" when you call - it could save you those remaining penalty weeks entirely. Good luck with your call tomorrow! This whole thread has been such a great resource for understanding how EDD's penalty/overpayment system actually works (or doesn't work, in many cases).

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this frustrating situation! Reading through all the excellent advice here, I wanted to add one more perspective as someone who recently went through a similar earnings reporting issue. The fact that you never received any written notices is absolutely huge - that's not just an inconvenience, it's a violation of your due process rights. EDD is legally required to send you both a Notice of Determination for the false statement penalty AND a separate Notice of Overpayment. Without proper notice, you couldn't have appealed within the normal timeframes, which gives you strong grounds for a "good cause" late appeal. When you call tomorrow, I'd also suggest asking them to explain exactly HOW they determined your earnings reporting was a "false statement" versus just an error. There's supposed to be intent behind a false statement - meaning they have to prove you deliberately tried to deceive them, not just that you made a mistake. For part-time work situations especially, their system often flags honest reporting errors as intentional fraud. One thing that worked for me was asking the rep to walk through my actual certification responses screen by screen compared to what they think I should have reported. Sometimes you'll discover they misinterpreted your responses or there was a technical glitch that caused your information to be recorded incorrectly. Don't let them intimidate you into just accepting this determination. You clearly made an honest mistake and are willing to make it right - that shouldn't come with such harsh penalties. Keep fighting for yourself!