Anyone else notice how the EDD website always seems to be 'under maintenance' when you actually need to use it? 🤔

This happened to me too! Check if you have any mail from EDD - sometimes they send disqualification notices by regular mail and it's easy to miss. Also, when you do get through to someone (and you will eventually!), ask them to pull up your entire case history. Sometimes there are system glitches that auto-disqualify people for weird reasons. I had to appeal mine and it took forever but I eventually got all my back pay. Don't let them wear you down - you've got this! 💪

Thanks everyone for the responses. Looks like I should expect to wait 6-9 weeks based on most of your experiences. I'm going to start gathering all my evidence now and make sure my mailing address is current. Hopefully I'll be one of the lucky ones who gets scheduled sooner rather than later!

Just wanted to add my recent experience - I filed my appeal in late January and got my hearing notice yesterday (March 28th), so about 8 weeks total. The hearing is scheduled for April 15th via Zoom. Like others mentioned, it came by regular mail only and arrived about 2.5 weeks before the actual hearing date. One thing I noticed is that my notice included a detailed list of documents I should have ready, which was really helpful for preparation. They also included a phone number specifically for technical issues if you're doing a virtual hearing. @Diego - since you're dealing with a "false statement" issue like I was, make sure you have any documentation that shows it was an honest mistake. In my case, I had email exchanges with my employer that helped clarify the confusion around my work dates. Good luck!

One more piece of advice from my experience: during the hearing, make sure to address only what the employer brings up in their testimony. Don't volunteer additional information or try to refute claims they haven't made yet. Let the judge guide the conversation. Also, regarding your slander question - while what they're doing is frustrating and potentially dishonest, proving slander in a legal sense would be difficult. Focus on winning the EDD appeal first. If your husband wins his appeal, the EDD will essentially have ruled that the employer's claims weren't credible, which is what matters for getting his benefits.

I went through a very similar situation with my former employer making unsubstantiated claims during my EDD appeal. Here's what I learned that might help you: The Administrative Law Judge will absolutely require the employer to provide concrete evidence for their allegations. Verbal warnings without documentation, claims of police involvement without records, and other unsubstantiated accusations won't hold up under scrutiny. A few key points for your hearing: - Bring multiple copies of all your documentation (the reference letters from the former supervisor and coworker statements are excellent evidence) - If you verified there were no police calls from that business address, bring written confirmation of that fact - The judge may ask the employer specific questions like "When did these verbal warnings occur?" and "Who witnessed them?" - if they can't provide specifics, it weakens their case significantly In my case, the employer made several claims but could only provide vague responses when pressed for details and documentation. The judge ruled in my favor because the burden of proof was on them to demonstrate misconduct, and they failed to do so. Your husband's case sounds strong given the supporting documentation you have. Stay organized, remain factual during the hearing, and let the employer's lack of evidence speak for itself. Good luck with your February 10th hearing!

Thank you everyone for the advice! I'm going to apply for partial unemployment tonight. I've already started documenting everything - taking screenshots of my old schedules versus new ones, and I've been keeping notes of all the inappropriate comments and break denials. I'll make sure to be very clear that this reduction was NOT my choice and that I've repeatedly requested more hours.\n\nI'm definitely going to look into filing a wage claim about the breaks too. To be honest, I was so focused on the hours issue that I didn't even realize how illegal the break situation is.\n\nFingers crossed the EDD approves my claim quickly. I'll update once I hear anything!

Good luck with your application! You're absolutely doing the right thing by documenting everything and applying for partial unemployment. Your situation definitely qualifies - an 80% reduction in hours is huge. Just a heads up from my experience: when you certify for benefits each week, you'll need to report your exact earnings from that one shift. EDD will calculate your partial benefit amount based on what you earn versus what you used to make. Also, keep applying for other jobs and document your job search activities since that's required to maintain eligibility. Your boss sounds awful and what he's doing is likely illegal on multiple fronts. Stay strong and don't let him intimidate you out of claiming the benefits you're entitled to!

Three days is still within normal processing time. ID.me sends the verification to EDD, but EDD still needs to process it on their end. If nothing changes after 7-10 business days, that's when you should follow up. In the meantime, make sure you continue to certify for benefits every two weeks even if your claim is still pending. Once your claim is approved, you'll receive all eligible back payments for the weeks you've certified.

I'm in almost the exact same situation! Filed 3 weeks ago, missed the ID.me verification initially, and had my phone interview on March 15th. The rep didn't mention the missing verification either during our call. I completed the ID.me verification yesterday after reading through all these comments and got the confirmation email. My claim is still pending too. It's such a relief to know I'm not the only one who missed this step initially. Hopefully we'll both see our claims move forward soon! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and advice here.