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.

How did you manage to get through to them? I've been trying to reach EDD for TWO WEEKS about my identity verification issue and can't get past the automated system!!!!

Glad you got confirmation! That's always the safest approach when something seems off. One additional tip: Take screenshots of your UI Online account showing your benefit calculation and save copies of all your certifications. If there's ever any question in the future, having documentation that you verified everything and acted in good faith makes a big difference. Eligible benefits are your legal right - just make sure to report any income accurately during the certification process and you'll be fine.

try calling exactly at 8:01am not 8:00am everyone calls right at 8 lol thats my secret trick

Just wanted to check back - were you able to get through to EDD? If you're still having trouble, remember that reopening a claim sometimes triggers an automatic review that can take 7-10 days before anything happens. During that time, you might not be able to get specific help about your claim status because it's in a processing queue.

im confused... isnt there a differents between appeal and eligibilty interview?? i had to do an interview but not an appeal. or are they the same thing?

Has anyone tried contacting their state representative's office? My cousin did this when his appeal was taking forever and suddenly it got scheduled within a week. Worth a shot!

Great job filing! Yes, you do need to conduct work search activities each week, but it's not just limited to applying to jobs. Other qualifying activities include:\n\n- Submitting job applications/resumes\n- Going to job interviews\n- Registering with CalJOBS (definitely do this)\n- Contacting former employers about rehiring\n- Attending job fairs or networking events\n- Taking job skills workshops\n\nKeep detailed records of everything - company names, contact info, position, date of application, etc. EDD doesn't always ask for this documentation with every certification, but they can audit you and request proof later. If you're ever audited and can't provide records, you might have to repay benefits.\n\nWhen you certify every two weeks, you'll just check \

This is super helpful, thank you! I'll definitely start a job search log today. I already have a few positions bookmarked that I plan to apply for tomorrow. And I'll register with CalJOBS right away.