To answer your question about tips - yes, you absolutely must report ALL earnings including tips when certifying for UI benefits. EDD considers tips as income and failing to report them can result in an overpayment determination later, which you'd have to pay back. Regarding your employer, yes, EDD will verify your employment and reduction in hours with them. They'll send what's called a "Notice of Unemployment Insurance Claim Filed" to your employer. If your employer incorrectly states you requested reduced hours, you should appeal immediately and provide any evidence you have (emails, schedule changes, etc.) showing the reduction wasn't voluntary.

One more important thing: when you first apply, you'll need to complete work search activities each week to remain eligible. For part-time workers, you still need to be looking for additional work. You can satisfy this by: 1. Applying for additional jobs or more hours at your current job 2. Registering with CalJOBS 3. Attending job fairs Make sure to keep a record of all your work search activities in case EDD requests proof later. When certifying, there will be questions specifically about your work search efforts.

One important thing to remember is that EDD often displays years rather than birth dates in their records. So if you were born in 1985, make sure you're not trying to enter "1985" as the day/month when registering. I've seen this trip up a lot of people. Also, check if your name has any special characters or spaces that might be causing issues. Their system is very particular about these things.

Update for anyone finding this thread later: The issue with registration after receiving an award letter is usually one of these five things: 1. Name format mismatch (middle name/initial issues) 2. Birth date format error 3. SSN transposition 4. Customer account number entered incorrectly 5. EDD system glitch that requires agent intervention In most cases, you can resolve this with a phone call to EDD. Yes, the wait times can be long, but it's faster than waiting for mail correspondence or filing a new claim (which would be incorrect in this situation).

just realized i might be thinking of something else lol... ignore my first comment

UPDATE: I emailed my W2 to UI_ASSIST@edd.ca.gov yesterday with all my info in the subject line like suggested. Got an auto-reply saying they received it, and this morning my UI Online account status changed from "Pending Identity Verification" to "Processing Payment"! Thank you everyone for your help!

Quick question related to this - I'm in the opposite situation where I had high-paying work when I first filed but then had to take a lower-paying job before getting laid off again. Am I stuck with the high calculation even though I can't find anything paying that much now?

Thanks everyone for the responses. Looks like I'm stuck with my current WBA until my benefit year ends in November 2025. I'm still going to try calling EDD using that Claimyr service just to see if there are any exceptions or if I'm missing something. Really wish there was a way to file a new claim based on my recent higher earnings, but it sounds like that's not how the system works. I'll just have to budget accordingly with the lower benefit amount until I can find another good job.

To answer your follow-up question - I would recommend being completely honest about your working arrangement when you apply, but focus on the facts rather than making legal claims about misclassification. Describe exactly how your work is structured: who sets your schedule, how assignments are determined, whether you can accept/reject specific placements, if you have multiple clients or just work through this one agency, etc. EDD will evaluate whether you're truly an independent contractor or an employee based on the ABC test under California law. If they determine you're actually an employee who's been misclassified, they'll handle that with the agency directly - you won't have to be the one making that claim.

One more thing I forgot to mention - make sure you certify for benefits every two weeks even if your initial application gets denied! If you win on appeal later, they can only pay you for weeks you properly certified for. I learned this the hard way and lost out on almost a month of potential benefits during my educational contractor case.