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Can I get unemployment if I quit due to bullying at my job?
Okay so I've been at this landscaping company for almost two years and the situation there became completely unbearable. My direct supervisor started singling me out about eight months ago — making comments in front of the whole crew, assigning me the worst jobs specifically to embarrass me, and twice he screamed at me in the parking lot loud enough that people from other businesses came outside to look. HR was useless. I filed two written complaints, they did a 'review,' and nothing changed. The supervisor actually got worse after I complained, like he knew nothing would happen to him. I finally quit three weeks ago. Couldn't do it anymore. I'm now trying to figure out if I even have a shot at getting California EDD unemployment benefits. My friends are saying I definitely won't qualify because I quit voluntarily, but that doesn't feel right to me — I didn't just walk out over nothing, the working conditions were genuinely hostile and I tried to fix it through proper channels first. I filed my claim online through myEDD the day after I left and I know EDD is going to schedule a phone interview to go over everything. I saved copies of my two HR complaint forms and I have text messages from coworkers who witnessed some of the incidents. Does anyone have actual experience with a situation like this? Did EDD approve your claim after a quit for a hostile work environment?
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How long after you get fired can you file for unemployment with California EDD?
Got let go from my warehouse job last Friday, completely out of nowhere. My supervisor pulled me into the office and said they were 'eliminating my position' but then HR told me I was fired for 'policy violations' which honestly makes no sense because I never got any written warnings. So now I'm sitting here trying to figure out what my next move is. I know I need to file for unemployment but I don't know if there's a window I have to do it in or if I can wait a few weeks while I sort out what happened. Also does it matter that my employer is saying I violated a policy if I genuinely don't think I did anything wrong? I've been at this company for 3 years so I should have enough wages built up. Just need to know how quickly I need to move on this.
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Last week of my claim I found out about the 26-week cap the hard way, thinking there was an automatic extension. There isn't. After 26 weeks of benefits your claim is done unless you're in an EDD-approved training program and applied for California Training Benefits before week 16. No general extension exists in California right now.
Applied for it in my 15th week — cutting it close. It did extend my benefits while I was in a certified program. Worth looking into early, not at week 15 like I did.
Important correction to flag here — California Training Benefits doesn't automatically add weeks to everyone's claim. EDD decides based on the approved training and your specific situation. Worth looking into but don't count on extra weeks until EDD confirms it.
My neighbor tried using Claimyr when his termination claim was stuck and said the agent he reached was able to tell him exactly which weeks were still pending and what was left to process. He ended up with a question on my mind too — does the agent you reach have the ability to actually move things forward or just give you information?
From my own call, the agent confirmed what was pending and what document was missing, and once I took action based on that info things moved. The agent can't approve your claim but they can tell you exactly where it's stuck, which is the whole point.
Agents have read access to your full file — pending weeks, interview schedule, documents received or not received, your weekly benefit amount. They can't approve a claim on the spot but knowing exactly what's holding things up is usually all you need to take the right next step.
Can you collect unemployment after being fired? California EDD rules explained
So last Thursday I got called into my manager's office and walked out without a job. They said it was for 'performance issues' but honestly it felt pretty sudden - no written warnings, nothing formal, just 'today is your last day.' I've never filed for unemployment before and my first question was obviously can you collect unemployment after being fired, because I always assumed if you got fired you were just out of luck. Looked it up a bit and it seems like maybe you CAN still qualify but I really don't understand how the process works or what EDD is actually looking at. My former employer has HR so I assume they'll be responding to whatever EDD sends them. I have about 14 months of wages with this company so I should have earnings in the base period I think? Has anyone actually gone through this? Did EDD approve you after a firing or did they deny it? What should I expect from the whole process?
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Nobody told me about the waiting week before my first claim and I lost my mind when my first certification only paid one week instead of two. It's not a glitch - every California UI claim has a one-week unpaid waiting period. It gets served on your first eligible week and doesn't reduce your total weeks, it's just unpaid. Your total claim is still the full 26 times your weekly benefit amount or half your base period wages, whichever is less.
Exactly. First certification covers the waiting week (unpaid) and week two (paid). You'll see one week's payment come through, not two. After that, each certification should pay two weeks as normal assuming nothing is flagged.
The waiting week freaked out everyone I know who filed for the first time. EDD explains it somewhere in the paperwork but it's easy to miss.
Went through almost this exact firing scenario six weeks ago - 'performance' as the reason, no documentation - and I'll be honest I nearly didn't file because I was sure I'd get denied. Got approved. The interview felt high stakes but the interviewer was matter-of-fact, not aggressive. Answer the specific questions they ask, don't over-explain, and let EDD do its job.
Five weeks is pretty typical for a firing case with an open issue. Plan for it financially if you can. The first payment landing after all that waiting is a relief.
Five weeks is tight but manageable if I'm careful. At least now I know roughly what to expect instead of just waiting and wondering. Really appreciate everyone in this thread.
How much can unemployment garnish from my paycheck - California EDD rules explained
Okay so I've been going back and forth on this for a few days and I need someone to clear this up for me. Got laid off from my warehouse job back in September and started collecting UI about three weeks after. Fast forward to last month - I picked up part-time work at a distribution center, still certifying every two weeks because my hours are way below what I used to make. When I told a coworker I was still on unemployment while working, he said California EDD can garnish my paycheck if they find out I'm earning while collecting. That freaked me out. I've been reporting every dollar I earn on my certifications like I'm supposed to, but now I have a bigger question: how much can unemployment garnish from my paycheck? Is that even a thing they do? I don't want to get hit with some overpayment notice out of nowhere. For context my weekly benefit is around $310 and I'm usually pulling in about $180 gross at the part-time gig each week.
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Eight certifications into a partial earnings situation and I have to say, the anxiety of that first week reporting wages was the worst. After the third or fourth time you get used to it and the payment amount stops surprising you. At your numbers you're in a range where EDD is still paying you a meaningful partial benefit - some people earn so much part-time that the benefit gets zeroed out entirely, which makes you question whether it's worth certifying. But as long as there's any benefit left after the formula, you should keep certifying to protect those weeks.
Certifying honestly every two-week period keeps your claim active and your status current. If a week has zero benefit because earnings were too high, you certify no-benefit for that week. Skipping entirely can cause gaps that are annoying to fix later.
Used Claimyr once specifically to ask an EDD agent whether a zero-benefit week I'd already missed certifying would cause problems. The agent looked at my claim and confirmed the specific weeks still open and what I could still certify for, which saved me from assuming I'd lost them.
Ending on a practical note for the original poster: your situation - $310 benefit, $180 part-time gross, reporting every dollar - is exactly what the partial benefits system was designed for. You're doing it right. The 'garnishment' fear your coworker described would only be relevant if you owed EDD money from a previous overpayment, and even then it comes out of state-side systems like refunds or future benefits, not your paycheck at the distribution center. Keep certifying, keep reporting, and the adjusted payments will keep coming.
The number of people scared away from collecting benefits they're legitimately owed because of myths like this is probably huge. You're entitled to what the formula says you're owed, and your employer has nothing to do with it.
Agreed. Reporting honestly and understanding the formula is all that's needed. No garnishment, no employer involvement, no surprise deductions from wages.
Can business owners collect unemployment in California EDD?
Okay so I need some real answers here because I'm getting conflicting information from everyone I talk to. I ran a small landscaping company for about six years, had it set up as an S-corp with myself as the sole shareholder and officer. The drought conditions this year destroyed my client base and I ended up dissolving the business last month. No employees left, no income coming in, nothing. Here's where it gets complicated - during those six years I paid myself a W-2 salary through the business. My accountant always handled the payroll taxes, and I assume SDI and all the standard California withholdings were done correctly. I never really paid attention to the specifics. Now I'm sitting here wondering if that W-2 history counts for unemployment purposes or if EDD is going to look at me and say 'you owned the business, you don't qualify.' I filed a claim two weeks ago and it's just sitting there showing pending weeks. No interview scheduled yet, no explanation. My DE 429Z came in the mail showing a weekly benefit amount, so something is processing, but I honestly have no clue if I'm going to get approved or denied. I know there's probably going to be a phone interview since the circumstances are unusual. Has anyone here gone through this as a former business owner? What actually happened with your claim?
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EDD's Unemployment Benefit Calculator on their site is actually pretty accurate for W-2 wage situations like this. Plugged in my numbers before filing and the estimated weekly amount was within $12 of what ended up on my DE 429Z.
I used it before filing and it gave me roughly what the DE 429Z showed, which was reassuring that the payroll was recorded correctly.
If the calculator and the DE 429Z agree, that's a good sign the wage records are clean in EDD's system.
Last thing I want to add for OP and anyone else in this situation: the payments go to a Money Network prepaid debit card automatically unless you go into myEDD and choose direct deposit. Setting up direct deposit before payments start flowing is worth doing so you're not waiting on a physical card to arrive in the mail.
Got the Money Network card before I noticed I could set up direct deposit. Switching after payments had already started was easy enough.
Payment info updates daily in UI Online and you can also check on the EDD phone line at 1-866-333-4606 anytime, that one runs 24 hours.
NeonNomad
Former HR manager here, different industry. When an employee files two formal written complaints and the employer takes no corrective action, that's actually an employer failure that creates liability risk for the company. EDD isn't a civil court and won't award damages, but that same employer inaction that exposed them legally is also exactly the kind of documented failure-to-act that strengthens a 'good cause to quit' argument at EDD. Those two complaints you filed weren't just paperwork — they demonstrate you used every reasonable avenue before leaving.
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NeonNomad
Two formal complaints with zero resolution is a meaningful record. It shows you tried the internal process twice and the employer didn't meet its basic obligation to investigate. That's the story EDD needs to hear.
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Sean Kelly
Exactly right. The question EDD is really asking is: did this person have a real problem, did they try to fix it through proper channels, and was quitting the only remaining option? Your situation checks all three.
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
my brother said i should tell my old employer i quit for personal reasons instead of bullying so they don't fight the claim. but isn't that the opposite of what you want to do with EDD? if the reason on the EDD form doesn't match the real reason...
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
okay yeah that makes sense now. so the documentation only helps if EDD knows why you actually left
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GalacticGladiator
EDD also contacts the employer and they're going to give EDD the real story anyway. If your account to EDD and the employer's account to EDD don't match, that inconsistency hurts your credibility. Consistency between your account and your documentation is what wins a quit case.
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