One important thing to remember: if you're receiving partial UI benefits from working part-time, make sure you're still doing your work search activities and certifying correctly. Many people make mistakes here and end up with conditional payments or worse, overpayment notices. Those work search requirements are still in effect (3 activities per week) even if you're working part-time hours. Just because you're working doesn't mean you can skip reporting your work search efforts during certification.

I'm in a similar situation - my benefits are about to run out next week and I'm terrified. The job market is brutal right now. One thing that might help is looking into community colleges that offer workforce development programs. Some have partnerships with employers and offer job placement assistance after completion. Also, don't forget about filing for CalFresh if you haven't already - at least that's one less expense to worry about while you're job hunting. The application process is pretty straightforward online and can help stretch whatever savings you have left. Hang in there!

Dude they call Me and stay quite no one speaks!!

That's amazing news, Todd! Your success story gives me so much hope. I've been stuck in the system for months too, and reading about your experience with asking for a tier 2 rep is exactly what I needed to hear. It's encouraging to know that persistence pays off and that the community resources here actually work. Congratulations on getting your back pay - you must be so relieved! Thanks for sharing the details about your process, it's incredibly helpful for those of us still fighting through this.

Best strategy I found: call at 8am sharp, if you don't get through in 20 attempts, wait until 2pm and try again. Don't waste the whole day.

The EDD phone system drops about 30-50% of calls even after you get on hold. It's a known technical issue they haven't fixed.

I think everyones making this sound more complicated than it is honestly. i did an interstate claim between cali and texas and it was pretty much the same as a regular claim. took maybe an extra week. just make sure you have all your paperwork ready and your claim should process fine! dont stress too much :

Hey Keisha! I just went through a CA/NC interstate claim 3 months ago and wanted to share some specifics that might help. First, North Carolina WILL be the paying state since that's where your wages were earned - ignore the conflicting info above. Your benefits will be based on NC's benefit calculation (unfortunately the lower $450 max), but you'll file and certify through California's UI Online system. Here's what actually happened with my claim: After filing with EDD, it took exactly 8 days for them to transfer my info to NC DES. North Carolina then took 12 days to approve and calculate my benefits. The phone interview mentioned above is real - they called me on a Tuesday at 2pm without advance notice, so definitely keep your phone close! One NC-specific thing: they require your EXACT job title and a detailed reason for separation. "Laid off" isn't enough - they want specifics like "workforce reduction due to company restructuring" or similar. Also, NC is stricter about work search requirements (3 per week vs CA's typical waiver), so be prepared for that. The good news: once approved, my first payment came within 5 days, and all subsequent payments were on time. Total process was about 3.5 weeks from initial filing to first payment. Way better than some of the horror stories here! You've got this - just stay organized and patient with the process.

my payment finally went thru!!! just got the text from Money Network!!! check ur accounts everyone

I'm on SDI not unemployment but we have the same payment system and mine is also delayed. Last time this happened was Presidents Day I think. Wish they would process payments BEFORE the holiday instead of making us all wait extra days.