Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I've learned that: 1) I definitely need to report all research study income, 2) Report it for the week I did the work, not when I get paid, 3) The first $25 per week is exempt, and then benefits are reduced by about 75% of the remaining amount, 4) Keep certifying even if my income temporarily reduces my benefits to $0, and 5) I should keep detailed records of all earnings. I'm going to create a spreadsheet to track everything like someone suggested. This has been incredibly helpful - much clearer than anything on the EDD website!

This is such a great thread! I'm in a similar situation - just started UI benefits after getting laid off from my marketing job. I've been doing some freelance graphic design work here and there, and this conversation really cleared up my confusion about reporting. The calculation breakdown that @PixelPrincess provided is gold - I'm definitely saving that for reference. It's reassuring to know that small amounts of income won't completely wipe out benefits thanks to that $25 exemption. Going to start that spreadsheet tracking system right away!

Just to add another important point: when you certify for benefits and report your vacation/sick pay, make sure you answer "Yes" to the question about whether you received any income for that week. Select "vacation pay" or "sick pay" from the dropdown menu, enter the amount before taxes, and the dates. Being precise with this information prevents problems later. Also, temporary layoffs sometimes qualify for partial benefits if you're working reduced hours rather than zero hours. So make sure you understand your exact employment status.

One more thing to keep in mind - if you're planning to use both vacation AND sick time during the waiting period, spread them out strategically. Don't use all 50 hours in one week because that might put you over the earnings threshold and could affect your benefit calculation later. Maybe use some during the waiting period and save the rest for when you might have partial work weeks after recall. Just a thought based on my experience with temporary layoffs in manufacturing!

Has anyone tried contacting their local representative? I've heard that can sometimes help speed things up.

I'm about 6 weeks into waiting for my PFL claim and honestly starting to panic a bit. My leave is already ongoing and I really need those payments to start coming through. Has anyone had success with following up multiple times or does that just annoy them? Also wondering if there's a difference in processing times between different types of PFL claims (bonding vs medical)?

anyone else feel like were living in the stone age with these government systems? how is it 2023 and we still gotta deal with this nonsense smh

I've been getting E314 errors too, but I found that switching to incognito/private browsing mode sometimes helps. Also, try accessing the site during off-peak hours (like early morning or late evening) when there's less traffic on their servers. The system seems to handle requests better when it's not overloaded. Good luck!

anyone else feel like we need to organize a protest or something? this is getting ridiculous

I've been battling this E314 error for about 3 weeks now and it's honestly driving me crazy. What's really frustrating is that I can see my claim status sometimes, but then when I try to certify or update any info, BAM - E314 error again. It's like the system is teasing me! 😠 Has anyone had any luck getting through to an actual human who could explain what this error code even means? The automated phone system just keeps saying "we're experiencing high call volumes" and then hangs up on me.