Had my eligibility interview on March 12th and it seemed positive. The interviewer reviewed my termination details (was let go on 2/27 due to 'performance issues' which were never documented). She mentioned I don't have any disqualifying factors and said we'd wait until March 14th to see if my former employer responds to her inquiry. She specifically said 'in my experience, this employer rarely responds to EDD' and promised to call me if they did. Well, no call came so I guess that's positive? I've certified for the last two weeks since my termination, but I'm completely in the dark about whether I've been approved or if payment is coming. The EDD website has been completely inaccessible for me since Monday (tried on laptop, phone, different browsers, clearing cache, everything). Just keeps showing the maintenance page or errors out. This is my first time dealing with unemployment and I'm getting really anxious. My rent is due next week. Any advice on what I should do next? Should I call? Is website downtime normal? How long before I know if I'm approved?

I got laid off from a large company in Martinez on January 8th and I STILL haven't received my final paycheck! From what I've read, California law requires employers to pay final wages within 72 hours of termination (or immediately if they gave notice). It's been over two weeks now and I'm getting desperate as bills are piling up. I've tried everything - texted and called my HR contact multiple times but she suddenly stopped responding. My supervisor also reached out to HR on my behalf with no luck. I even went to the office in person yesterday and was told my HR rep is "on vacation" with no backup person assigned to handle my case! This feels illegal but I don't know what steps to take next. Should I file an EDD claim before resolving this paycheck issue? Do I need to contact the labor board? Has anyone dealt with something similar? I'm new to all this unemployment stuff and could really use some guidance.

So I certified for my EDD benefits this past Sunday morning around 8am and my claim status changed to 'approved' almost immediately, which was exciting... but here we are 3 days later and still no money has hit my account. My payment history shows 'paid' status with a payment date of Monday, but my Money Network card hasn't received a deposit yet. Is this a normal delay right now? I'm getting nervous because rent is due next week and I was counting on these funds. Is anyone else experiencing longer than usual wait times between approval and actual payment? This is my 4th certification since being laid off from my sales job, and the previous payments all showed up within 24-48 hours max.

So frustrated right now! Just went through a whole appeal process and almost missed my hearing because I didn't realize EDD and the Appeals Board don't share address information. I moved a month ago and dutifully updated my address with EDD through my UI Online account. I honestly thought that would update my info everywhere in the system. NOPE! Turns out the Appeals Board has a completely separate database. My hearing notice was sent to my old address and I only found out by chance when my old neighbor texted me. Had to rush to call the Appeals office to confirm the hearing date and update my contact info with them separately. Just posting this as a warning to anyone going through appeals - make sure you update your address with BOTH offices! Don't assume EDD passes that info along to Appeals.

I've been running my own graphic design business for 3 years but last week my rented office space flooded after a pipe burst. When the building manager inspected the damage, they discovered asbestos in the walls! The whole building is now shut down for extensive remediation that will take at least 4-5 months according to the property management company. I can't afford to rent another space right now and some of my specialized equipment was damaged in the flood too. I've had to cancel all my current clients and have no income coming in. Am I eligible for any type of unemployment as a self-employed person? I've paid all my taxes as a sole proprietor but never had regular unemployment before. Does California offer any disaster-related benefits or am I just completely out of luck here?