I went through penalty weeks myself about 6 months ago. The most important thing for your brother to understand is that he MUST keep certifying every two weeks during the penalty period - even though he won't get paid. Each certification counts as serving one penalty week. Also, if he's struggling financially, he should look into local food banks and emergency assistance programs. Many counties have rent assistance programs too. The penalty weeks will end eventually, but he needs to stay on top of the certifications or they'll just sit there forever.

I'm new here but dealing with a similar situation. Your brother should also know that during penalty weeks, any work he does needs to be reported accurately when he certifies - even though he's not getting UI benefits, incorrect reporting during penalty weeks can lead to additional penalties later. I learned this the hard way. Also, if he's considering taking temporary work during the penalty period, he should still report those earnings on his certifications. The penalty weeks will still count down as long as he's certifying, regardless of whether he's working or not.

I just want to echo what everyone else has been saying - you're going to do absolutely fine! I had my RESEA appointment about 6 weeks ago and was in the exact same panic mode when I first got that notification. One thing that really helped me was realizing that the counselors doing these appointments genuinely want to see you succeed. My counselor actually spent extra time with me because she could see I was nervous, and she walked me through some job search strategies I hadn't considered before. Don't worry too much about having perfect records - I had some gaps in my documentation and just explained honestly what I remembered. They understand that when you're dealing with unemployment stress, record-keeping isn't always your top priority. What matters most is that you can show you've been making consistent, genuine efforts to find work. Also, definitely take advantage of any resources they offer! I initially thought the "action plan" would just be busy work, but the workshops and tools they recommended actually turned out to be really helpful. One of the networking events they suggested led to a promising job lead. You've clearly been putting in the work with your job search, so just go in there with confidence and be yourself. The appointment will be over before you know it, and you'll probably wonder why you were so worried about it. Good luck on Wednesday - you've got this! 🙌

Hey there! I'm new to this community but have been following this thread because I'm in a similar situation - just got my RESEA notification yesterday and was completely freaking out until I read through everyone's experiences here. What really strikes me is how consistent everyone's feedback has been about the appointments being more supportive than scary. I've been unemployed for about 2.5 months and have been doing my work search activities, but like many of you, my documentation isn't perfect. Reading that the counselors are generally understanding about record-keeping gaps is such a relief. I'm planning to follow the advice here about going through my email confirmations and job site histories to fill in what I can remember. The tip about printing out records even for virtual appointments is genius - I never would have thought of that! Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their experiences. This thread has completely changed my mindset from dreading the appointment to actually seeing it as an opportunity to get additional resources and support. It's amazing how much better I feel after reading all these positive outcomes. This community is such a valuable resource for navigating the EDD system!

This whole thread is incredibly helpful for anyone going through the appeal process! Dylan, congrats on getting to the "paid" status - that's a huge milestone. Based on what everyone's shared here, it seems like 10-20 days is the typical range, with some horror stories going longer. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also check if your bank has any daily deposit limits that might affect receiving a large lump sum like $7,800. Some banks will hold or flag unusually large deposits for verification, which could add another day or two to the process. You might want to give your bank a heads up that you're expecting a large government deposit so they don't put an automatic hold on it. Also, for anyone else reading this who's waiting on their appeal decision - make sure you keep certifying for benefits even while your case is pending! I made that mistake and it delayed everything because I had to go back and retroactively certify for weeks I missed. Really hoping that deposit hits your account soon Dylan! Keep us posted on the final timeline.

Dylan, this is such an encouraging update! Really happy to see your status changed to "paid" after 12 days - that gives me hope for my own situation. I won my appeal about 8 days ago and have been obsessively checking my account every day. It's reassuring to know that the system does eventually update even if it takes a couple weeks. The advice everyone's given here about calling your bank is spot on. I had a friend who got their large unemployment backpay held for 3 days because the bank flagged it as suspicious. Definitely worth a quick call to avoid that headache. Thanks for keeping everyone updated throughout your process - it really helps those of us going through the same thing to have realistic expectations. Hoping that deposit hits your account today!

I'm going through this exact same frustrating situation right now! My status changed to "outstanding" about a week ago even though I have plenty of weeks left in my claim balance. The uncertainty has been really stressful, but reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. What I've learned from this community that's been super helpful: keep certifying every two weeks no matter what (almost made the mistake of stopping), check physical mail in addition to the online portal since EDD apparently still sends important notices via regular mail, and be persistent about trying to reach them through those callback services since direct calling seems impossible. I think my "outstanding" status might have been triggered by some part-time work I reported recently - it seems like their system flags anything that looks complex for manual review. I'm planning to try one of those callback services mentioned here if this drags on much longer. It's both frustrating and comforting to see so many others dealing with this same bureaucratic nightmare. Thanks to everyone who shared their success stories - especially hearing that the backed-up payments do eventually come through once the review is completed. This community support makes the waiting so much more bearable!

I'm currently dealing with this exact same "outstanding" status issue and it's been about 6 days now. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful and has definitely eased some of my anxiety about the situation. What really stands out to me from all the shared experiences is how common this seems to be, especially for people who've had any kind of non-traditional income or multiple employers. I recently reported some contract work income, so that's likely what triggered my review. The advice about continuing to certify every two weeks regardless of the status has been crucial - I was honestly considering skipping certification thinking it was pointless with the "outstanding" status. Also, the tip about checking physical mail in addition to the online portal is something I hadn't thought of but makes total sense given how EDD operates. I'm planning to try one of those callback services mentioned throughout this thread if this stretches past another week. It's reassuring to hear from people like Ella, Oliver, and Vanessa who eventually got all their backed-up payments once the review was completed. Thanks to everyone for creating such a supportive community around this stressful situation - knowing we're not alone in dealing with EDD's bureaucratic maze makes all the difference!

This thread is absolutely incredible - I just created an account specifically to thank everyone for sharing these strategies! I've been stuck in pending hell for almost 4 weeks now and was literally about to give up and accept that I might lose my apartment. My claim started in December too, so the quarterly review flag explanation makes PERFECT sense. I had no idea this was even a thing! I've been doing everything wrong - calling the main 800 number right at 8am every day and hanging up as soon as I heard that dreaded "maximum callers" message. Reading through everyone's success stories gives me so much hope that there's actually a way out of this nightmare. Going to try the 833-978-2511 number tomorrow morning at 10:35am and wait through the entire high volume message no matter how long it takes. I love @Anastasia Popova's strategy of immediately mentioning the quarterly review flag by name - that's going to save so much time explaining symptoms. Also planning to contact my assembly member as a backup plan since several people had great success with that route. I never would have thought of going the political route! Thank you all for not just complaining about the broken system (though we have every right to) but actually sharing solutions that WORK. This community support is everything when you're facing eviction and the system seems designed to keep us from getting help. Will definitely update when I (hopefully) get through!

This thread has been such a lifesaver! I've been dealing with the exact same pending certification nightmare for 5 weeks now and was completely at my breaking point. My claim started in December too, so reading about the quarterly review flag was like finally finding the missing puzzle piece. It's absolutely infuriating that EDD doesn't send ANY notification about these automatic holds - we're just left thinking our claims are broken or we made some mistake. I've wasted countless hours calling that main 800 number at 8am sharp every single day, only to get hung up on immediately. After reading everyone's strategies here, I tried the 833-978-2511 number this morning at 10:30am and waited through the ENTIRE high volume message (which felt like forever but was probably only 3-4 minutes). Got put in a queue and waited about 45 minutes, but I FINALLY got through to a real person! I used the script several of you suggested and immediately said "Hi, I believe my account has a quarterly review flag that needs manual clearing because my certifications have been pending since my benefit year crossed into the new quarter in January." The rep knew exactly what I was talking about and found the flag within 2 minutes. She cleared it on the spot and said my 5 pending weeks should process within 24-48 hours. I'm literally crying with relief right now. Thank you to everyone who shared their success stories and kept posting updates - it gave me the motivation to keep trying when I was ready to give up completely. This community is amazing when the system fails us so badly. For anyone still struggling with this issue, don't lose hope! These strategies really do work, you just have to be persistent and patient.