Hey Sergio! Welcome to the community! I'm a recent nursing school graduate who successfully used CTB benefits throughout my entire program after being laid off from my hospital job as a patient care tech. All the advice you've received here is absolutely spot-on - this community really knows what they're talking about! I just wanted to add a couple of things that helped me during my journey: First, when you call EDD, wear headphones or use speaker phone and have something to keep your hands busy while you wait on hold. I used to do flashcard reviews for my nursing classes while waiting - made the time feel productive instead of frustrating! Second, consider reaching out to your state nursing association or local nursing student organizations. Many of them have resources or can connect you with mentors who've navigated similar financial challenges during school. I found a great support network through my local student nurse association that helped with both the CTB process and general nursing school stress. Your proactive approach to this challenge is exactly the kind of critical thinking and planning that will make you a great nurse. The fact that you're reaching out for help and gathering information before diving in shows you already have the problem-solving mindset healthcare needs. With your CNA background and being laid off due to downsizing, you're in an excellent position for CTB approval. Healthcare education is exactly what this program was designed to support, and EDD recognizes nursing as essential workforce development. You've got this! Feel free to come back and share how the process goes - success stories really help future students in similar situations. Best of luck with both your CTB application and nursing school! 🩺📚

Hey Sergio! Welcome to the nursing student community! I just wanted to jump in and add my encouragement after reading through all this amazing advice everyone's shared. I'm currently in my final semester of an RN program and went through the CTB process about two years ago after being laid off from my job as a unit secretary. The whole experience taught me so much about advocating for myself and navigating complex systems - skills that have actually made me a better nursing student and will definitely help in my career! One thing I'd add to all the excellent practical advice here: don't be afraid to ask for help from your nursing school instructors too. Many of them have seen students go through financial challenges and may know about additional resources or have connections that can help. My clinical instructor actually connected me with a local nursing scholarship I never would have found on my own. Also, once you get everything set up, try to view your biweekly certifications as a little check-in with yourself. I used to use those few minutes to reflect on how my semester was going and what I needed to focus on. It became a nice routine that helped me stay organized with both my benefits and my studies. Your CNA experience is going to be such a huge asset in nursing school - you already understand so much about patient care that other students are just learning. Combined with your proactive approach to solving this financial challenge, I have no doubt you're going to be successful both with CTB and in your program. Keep us posted on how everything goes! This community loves celebrating each other's successes. You've got this! 💪🏥

I went through a very similar situation last year and want to share what worked for me. I was disqualified for work search issues and got hit with a $3,600 overpayment notice. Here's what I learned: 1. File BOTH appeals immediately - they're separate processes even though they're related 2. For the work search appeal, focus on proving you were actively looking but didn't understand the specific documentation requirements 3. Keep copies of EVERYTHING you submit and send via certified mail 4. If you can't afford repayment, definitely request the hardship waiver on the overpayment appeal The key thing that helped my case was showing a pattern of consistent job searching (even with incomplete documentation) rather than periods of no activity. I also emphasized that I received the benefits in good faith and spent them on necessities like rent and food. My hearing was scheduled about 6 weeks after I filed the appeal, and I won both the disqualification reversal and overpayment waiver. The judge seemed to understand that the work search documentation rules can be confusing for people who are genuinely trying to comply. Don't give up - you have legitimate grounds for appeal here!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I got disqualified for work search documentation issues 2 months ago and just received my overpayment notice for $5,200. Reading everyone's experiences here gives me hope that this isn't hopeless. A few questions based on what I'm seeing: 1. Is there any advantage to filing the appeals at the same time vs. separately? 2. For those who won their appeals - about how long did the whole process take from filing to final decision? 3. Should I continue certifying for benefits while my appeals are pending, or does that hurt my case? I've been unemployed for 8 months now and genuinely was looking for work the whole time, just didn't realize how specific their documentation requirements were. The thought of owing them over $5K when I'm barely keeping up with basic expenses is terrifying. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's nice to know I'm not alone in this mess!

I went through this exact situation last month! I was on partial UI and got COVID. I reported it honestly on my certification and EDD sent me a form asking about my work availability. I just explained it was temporary illness due to COVID, included my positive test date and expected return date, and submitted it within the deadline they gave me. My benefits continued without any issues and there was no impact on my ongoing claim status. The key is being upfront about it being temporary and providing clear dates. Don't stress too much - temporary illness while on partial unemployment is pretty common and EDD handles it routinely as long as you're honest and responsive to any follow-up they send.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - tested positive yesterday and supposed to work tomorrow. Reading through all these responses is super helpful! It sounds like the consensus is definitely to report it honestly. I was leaning toward just saying I was available to work to avoid complications, but after seeing what @Isaac Wright said about EDD cross-referencing with employer records, I'm convinced that being truthful is the only safe approach. Better to deal with a form or two than risk getting hit with overpayment penalties later. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is so valuable for navigating EDD's confusing system!

I've been dealing with similar login issues for the past few days too. What's really frustrating is that EDD doesn't seem to have a reliable way to notify users when these outages happen - I had to find out about the maintenance from this thread! For anyone still having trouble, I've found that using an incognito/private browser window sometimes helps, and also trying the mobile app instead of the website. The app seems to handle the server load a bit better sometimes. Really hope they get their system stability sorted out soon because this happens way too often.

Just want to add that if you're still having issues, try switching your VPN location if you're using one - sometimes EDD's system blocks certain IP ranges during high traffic periods. Also, I've noticed that Firefox tends to work better than Chrome for their site during these outages. And for anyone worried about missing certification deadlines, you can actually certify by phone too! Call 1-866-333-4606 and follow the prompts. It takes longer but it's a good backup when the online system is down. Hope this helps someone!

This is actually a really positive outcome for you! I know the decision letter looks confusing with all the legal language, but you essentially won the important battle here. The Section 1256 ruling in your favor is HUGE - it means you're not disqualified for how your employment ended, which saves you from potentially weeks or months of penalty periods that many people face. The Section 1253(c) denial is just for those specific weeks when you were hospitalized and correctly reported being unavailable for work. What this means practically: You should receive backpay for ALL weeks except the hospital period once EDD processes the judge's decision. However, their system won't update automatically - you'll need to call and have them manually implement the ruling. Here's what worked for me in a similar situation: Call EDD at exactly 8:00 AM when they open (set an alarm for 7:58 AM and start dialing right at 8). Have your appeal decision letter ready with all those case numbers. When you get through, ask them to process the judge's decision and send you email confirmation of which weeks they're approving for payment. Keep certifying for current weeks while you wait, and don't worry if the backpay comes as multiple deposits rather than one lump sum - that's normal. The employer reserve account part doesn't affect your benefits at all. You're almost at the finish line! The hardest part (winning the appeal) is already done.

Ashley, this is actually fantastic news overall! I know the legal terminology makes it sound confusing, but you basically scored a major victory here. Let me break it down simply: The Section 1256 ruling means you WON on the big issue - no disqualification penalty for how your job ended. This is huge because it saves you from potentially months of waiting that many people face when EDD thinks they quit or were fired improperly. The Section 1253(c) denial is just for those specific weeks when you were hospitalized. Since you correctly reported being unavailable during that time, this ruling makes perfect sense and shows you did everything right. Bottom line: You'll get backpay for ALL eligible weeks EXCEPT the hospital period. But EDD won't process this automatically - you absolutely need to call them to implement the judge's decision. My advice: Call at exactly 8:00 AM when they open (set an alarm for 7:58 AM). Have your appeal letter with those subcase numbers ready. When you get through, ask them to process the decision AND request email confirmation of which weeks they're approving. The employer reserve account part doesn't affect your benefits at all - it just means your former employer won't see their UI tax rate increase. Keep certifying while you wait, and don't panic if the backpay comes in multiple deposits. You're almost there - the hardest part (winning the appeal) is done!