Thank you everyone for the amazing advice! I've taken notes and will definitely be more careful with my certifications. I'm going to look into both the Claimyr service to speak with an EDD rep directly and the IHSS program someone mentioned. I'm relieved to hear I'm not the only one navigating this complicated situation. I'll update this thread after I talk to EDD and get more clarification on my specific case.

I'm in a very similar situation - caring for my elderly father with dementia after quitting my job last year. One thing that really helped me was setting up a dedicated email account just for job applications and EDD correspondence. This way I could easily track and document all my work search activities in one place. Also, when you do your bi-weekly certifications, be very specific about your availability constraints. I always write something like "Available for part-time remote or flexible evening work that accommodates caregiving schedule" rather than just checking "yes" to availability. This shows EDD that you're being honest about your limitations while still being genuinely available for appropriate work. The stress of worrying about losing benefits on top of caregiving is overwhelming, but documenting everything and being transparent with EDD has worked well for me so far. Hang in there - you're doing an incredible thing for your mother.

I'm going through almost the exact same thing right now! Filed my claim in late February, got approved mid-March, and have been certifying religiously but haven't seen a penny. Just checked my account yesterday and three of my weeks that were pending are now showing disqualification with zero explanation. I've been calling EDD nonstop but it's impossible to get through. Reading through these comments is giving me some hope though - sounds like a lot of people have had this resolved through their assembly reps. I'm going to contact mine today. This whole system is such a nightmare! Please keep us updated on what your assembly person finds out, and I'll do the same if I hear anything helpful. We're all in this together!

I'm dealing with something very similar right now! Filed in early March, got approved, been certifying every two weeks but zero payments. Then last week - boom - suddenly all my certified weeks switched to "disqualification" with absolutely no explanation or warning. It's like they're playing games with people's livelihoods! The assembly rep route seems to be the way to go based on what I'm reading here. I contacted mine two days ago and they said it could take 3-5 business days to get a response from EDD on my behalf. The waiting is killing me though - I've got bills piling up and was counting on that backpay. One thing I noticed is that my UI Online account still shows my weekly benefit amount and claim balance as if everything is normal, but then all the individual weeks say disqualified. It's so confusing and frustrating that they don't give you any real information about what triggered this. Really hoping your assembly person comes through quickly! Please update us when you hear something - stories like yours and the others here are the only thing keeping me sane right now knowing this can actually get resolved.

I went through something very similar last year and can confirm what others are saying - your claim absolutely stays open for the full benefit year even after denial. The "insufficient wages" thing is frustrating but usually fixable. When I appealed, I made sure to include everything: W-2s, final pay stubs from each quarter, and even called my former employer's HR department to confirm they had reported my wages correctly (turns out they hadn't submitted Q4 wages on time). The appeal hearing was done over the phone and took about 20 minutes - just be prepared to explain your work history during the base period. I got approved about 3 weeks after the hearing and received all my back payments. Don't get discouraged - if you truly worked full-time for 2 years like you said, this is almost certainly just a reporting error that can be corrected. Make sure to file that appeal ASAP though, the 30-day deadline is firm!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Filed my claim in February and got denied for "insufficient wages" even though I've been working steadily for the past 3 years at the same company. It's so frustrating because I know my employer has been taking UI taxes out of my paychecks this whole time. Reading through these responses gives me hope that it's just a system error that can be fixed. I'm gathering all my W-2s and pay stubs now to submit with my appeal. Does anyone know if it helps to include a letter from your employer confirming your employment dates and wages? My HR department said they'd be happy to write one if it would strengthen my appeal case.

UPDATE: Finally got through to EDD this morning! Called right at 8:00am and had to wait on hold for over an hour, but eventually spoke with a rep who identified the problem. Just like many of you said, my old pandemic claim was stuck in some kind of 'inactive' status rather than properly expired. The representative had to transfer me to a tier 2 specialist (another 20 minute wait), but they were able to reset something in their system. I was then able to file my new claim while on the phone with them. They said I should be able to certify for my first two weeks in about 10 days. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

So glad you were able to get this sorted out! Your experience perfectly illustrates why this system is so frustrating - it's a simple backend flag that takes 5 minutes to fix but requires jumping through so many hoops to reach someone who can actually do it. Thanks for posting the update, it gives hope to others dealing with the same loop issue. Hopefully EDD will eventually fix their website to handle these expired claim transitions better so people don't have to spend hours on hold for what should be a simple online process.