I went through a very similar situation last year and want to share some additional tips that helped me win my appeal. First, document EVERYTHING - I created a timeline with dates, times, and exact quotes from conversations. Second, if you have any coworkers who witnessed positive feedback about your performance or heard the termination meeting, ask them to write brief statements for you (they don't have to attend the hearing). Third, look up your company's employee handbook - if they didn't follow their own progressive discipline policy before terminating you, that's huge evidence in your favor. The fact that they said you were "showing great improvement" just two weeks before letting you go is actually really strong evidence that this wasn't misconduct. Stay strong and don't let them intimidate you - the appeal process exists exactly for situations like this where employers try to avoid paying into the unemployment system by making false claims!

I'm dealing with something very similar right now! My employer told me they were "restructuring my position" but then reported to EDD that I was terminated for poor attendance (I had maybe 2 sick days in 8 months). The inconsistency between what they tell you vs what they tell EDD is SO common. From what I've learned researching my own case, California has a really high bar for proving misconduct - it has to be willful or deliberate violation of company policy, not just performance issues. The fact that your supervisor literally used the words "letting you go" and gave you positive feedback so recently makes this sound like a layoff/performance termination, not misconduct. Definitely appeal and emphasize that disconnect between their positive feedback and sudden termination. Also document everything NOW while it's fresh - exact quotes, dates, who was present. I'm rooting for you! These employers shouldn't be able to deny people benefits by changing their story after the fact.

have u checked ur inbox on UI Online? sometimes they send messages asking for more info before they'll process payment. also check ur spam folder for emails from edd. my wife almost missed an important notice that way

Just following up - were you able to reach EDD and get this resolved? I'm curious if they determined the part-time offer was unsuitable work. This information could help others in similar situations.

I went through something similar a few months ago! My second week got stuck in pending for almost 10 days. What finally worked for me was calling and specifically asking them to check for any "eligibility reviews" on my account. Sometimes they trigger these mini-reviews randomly and forget to notify you. Also, make sure you didn't accidentally answer any of the weekly certification questions differently than usual - even small changes can flag your claim. The rep I talked to was able to see that my account had been flagged for a routine review and cleared it immediately. Definitely push for specifics when you call - don't accept vague "it's processing" answers. Good luck! 🍀

This is so frustrating but unfortunately super common! I'm dealing with a similar issue right now - got paid for one week but the second is just sitting there pending for no apparent reason. From what I've learned lurking in this community, it seems like EDD's system just randomly flags accounts for "reviews" without bothering to tell us what they're actually reviewing. I've been trying to call for three days straight with no luck getting through. The whole system feels like it's held together with duct tape and prayers. Really hoping someone here has found a magic trick to get past the busy signals because I'm about ready to camp out at their office! 😤 Keep us posted on what you find out - we're all in this together!

I switched from Money Network to direct deposit about 6 weeks ago and it's been so much better! I was in your exact situation - transferring from the card to my local credit union and waiting 3+ days every time. Now I certify Sunday and get my payment by Tuesday morning consistently. The setup was pretty easy through UI Online but here's what I learned: definitely call your credit union first to ask about their ACH deposit policy and to give them a heads up that you'll be receiving government deposits. My credit union doesn't put holds on them but they appreciated the advance notice. Also, have a voided check or your online banking open when you enter the account info - don't try to do it from memory! The transition took about 2 weeks for me. My first payment after requesting the switch still went to Money Network, then the second one came via direct deposit. Just keep your card active until you see that first direct deposit hit. One unexpected benefit: when I had a payment issue a few weeks ago, the EDD rep could see the direct deposit status immediately and helped resolve it quickly. With Money Network they always made me call the card company too. Definitely worth making the switch for the speed and simplicity!

I made the switch from Money Network to direct deposit about 2 months ago and it's been fantastic! I was doing exactly what you're doing - transferring from the card to my bank and waiting 2-3 days. Now I certify Sunday morning and my money is in my account by Monday night or Tuesday morning at the latest. The setup process through UI Online is pretty straightforward, but definitely take everyone's advice about being super careful with your account info. I had my online banking open on my phone while I filled out the form on my computer so I could double-check every single digit. Also called my bank beforehand to confirm the routing number and let them know to expect EDD deposits. One thing that helped me during the transition: I set a calendar reminder to check both my Money Network card AND my bank account for the first few payments after making the switch. That way I knew exactly when the changeover happened and didn't miss anything. The whole transition took about 2 weeks for me. The consistency has been amazing for bill planning! Knowing I'll have my money by Tuesday every cycle has made budgeting so much easier. Definitely recommend making the switch - you won't regret it!

This is absolutely shocking but thank you for the heads up! I just got approved for unemployment last week and was planning to just use the Money Network card they send, but after reading all of this I'm going straight to direct deposit before I even activate the card. It's insane that people are losing their entire benefit payments with zero notification - that money is literally what keeps people housed and fed! I'm bookmarking this thread to share with other people I know who are dealing with unemployment. Everyone needs to know about this. Has anyone reported this to the state legislature or anything? This seems like a systemic failure that goes way beyond just individual fraud cases.

This is absolutely terrifying! I just checked my Money Network account after reading this and everything looks normal thankfully, but I'm definitely paranoid now. I had no idea this was even happening - you'd think with all the EDD problems we've heard about that they'd at least have basic security measures in place to protect our payments. I'm going to follow all the advice here about setting up alerts and changing my password immediately. Thank you so much for posting this warning Dylan - you probably saved so many people from losing their benefits! I'm also going to look into switching to direct deposit ASAP. It's ridiculous that we have to worry about our unemployment money getting stolen on top of everything else we're already dealing with.