Quick update on what I included with my appeal form since you asked: I sent the form plus my final paystub, a letter from my employer confirming my last day of work, and a timeline I wrote out showing all the dates I'd certified and when I received the disqualification notice. The more documentation, the better! And yes - using Claimyr was a game-changer. I wasted so many hours getting busy signals and disconnections before finding them. The EDD rep I finally spoke with actually helped correct some info on my file that might have been causing the problem in the first place.

I'm dealing with something similar right now - got disqualified last week and still haven't received the appeal form they promised would come in 3-5 days. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! For anyone else in this situation, I just want to emphasize what others have said about the 30-day deadline being FIRM. I almost made the mistake of just waiting around for their mail. Downloaded the DE 1000M form this morning after reading this thread and I'm getting it in certified mail tomorrow. One thing I learned from calling around - if you're dealing with ID.me verification issues at the same time as a disqualification (like I am), those are two separate processes that don't automatically talk to each other. So even if you complete ID.me successfully, you still need to file the appeal for the disqualification separately. Has anyone had success getting their case expedited due to financial hardship? I'm about to lose my apartment and wondering if there's any way to speed up the appeal timeline.

my friends husband got out of army and claimed in ca but got denied cuz he moved to nevada right after discharge so make sure ur actually establish residency in cali before u claim!!!!!

Hey Luca! As a fellow service member who went through this transition, I want to emphasize what others have said - definitely wait until after your official separation date. I made the mistake of trying to get a head start and it just caused headaches. One thing I didn't see mentioned yet is that you should also gather all your Leave and Earnings Statements (LES) from your final year of service. EDD will use these to calculate your benefit amount since military pay works differently than civilian wages. Also, if you have any terminal leave being paid out, that might affect your claim timing - make sure you report that accurately. The good news is that California generally handles military claims pretty well once you have all your documentation ready. Just be patient with the process, especially during the holidays. Good luck with your transition back to civilian life!

oof, been there done that. the PFL struggle is real. sending positive vibes your way, hope you get it sorted soon! 🤞

Hey Nia! I went through something similar a few months ago. What ended up working for me was going to my local EDD office in person - I know it's a pain with a new baby, but sometimes showing up physically gets faster results than waiting on hold forever. Bring all your paperwork and your claim number. The staff there were actually pretty helpful and got my missing timesheet sorted out the same day. Also, if you haven't already, make sure your address is updated in their system - sometimes mail gets delayed or lost. Hope this helps and congrats on your little one! 💙

UPDATE: I finally spoke with an EDD rep! I used Claimyr as suggested and got a callback within 40 minutes. The rep confirmed that two studios didn't report my wages correctly. I'm submitting the reconsideration form tomorrow with all my pay stubs. She said I should continue certifying at the lower benefit amount, and once they process my documentation (estimated 2-3 weeks), they'll issue retroactive payments for the difference. For anyone in the animation/film industry reading this thread later - ALWAYS check your award notice carefully to make sure all your employers are listed correctly! Thank you all for your help!

This is such a common issue for those of us in creative industries! I work in commercial production and had the exact same thing happen - my benefit amount dropped from $320 to $89 because EDD was only showing wages from one production company out of four I'd worked for that year. The entertainment payroll companies sometimes use different reporting methods or there are delays in when they submit wage data to EDD. I'm glad you got through to someone and are getting it sorted! For future reference, I now always request a wage and potential benefit estimate before filing my claim so I can catch these issues early. The form is DE 4320WS if anyone else wants to do this proactively.

Reality check: The EDD phone number 1800 system wasn't designed for this call volume. Manual calling works but you need to treat it like a part-time job. Set realistic expectations.

I've been following this thread and wanted to share my experience - I spent 2 weeks trying to get through the 1800 EDD number manually, probably made 300+ attempts. Finally broke down and used one of those callback services everyone mentions (Claimyr) and honestly wish I'd done it from day one. Got connected to an agent within 30 minutes and resolved my claim issue same day. The $20 fee felt steep when unemployed but compare that to the time and stress of endless redialing - totally worth it. For anyone still on the fence, the manual approach might work eventually but these services exist because the system is genuinely broken for individual callers.