Can I apply for disability and unemployment at the same time in California EDD?

This is really helpful, thank you. So basically I should stop certifying for unemployment once my doctor officially pulls me from work, and then switch over to filing SDI?

That's pretty much it - unemployment requires you to be able and available for work every single week you certify. If your doctor has you off work, that week you're not eligible for UI. File for Disability Insurance through SDI Online instead once the disability starts.

How far in advance can you file for DI? I'm in a similar spot and trying to figure out the timing.

EDD says to file no earlier than nine days after the disability begins but no later than 49 days after. Don't wait too long or you lose those early weeks.

Okay so right now I'm technically able to work even with the injury, it's just not safe to keep doing warehouse stuff. Would EDD consider me available for work if I can do other jobs but not my old one?

Availability isn't about your old specific job - it's about whether you're able and available for work generally. If you can do some type of work, you'd certify yes to being able and available. But once a doctor formally restricts you, that changes things. That's a question worth asking EDD directly since your situation is specific.

Yeah that's a tricky line. My doctor gave me light duty restrictions and I was still able to certify for unemployment because I was available for light duty jobs, not just warehouse work. EDD didn't deny me for that.

Wait, so the SDI taken from my check every pay period is what funds disability insurance? I never actually understood what that deduction was for.

Exactly - CASDI on your paystub covers both Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave. It has nothing to do with unemployment. Unemployment is funded by employers, not workers.

I always thought we paid into unemployment too. Good to know that's not how it works.

Really common misconception. Only employers pay into UI. The CASDI deduction is separate and only funds DI and PFL.

Did you have to close out your unemployment claim or does it just pause when you stop certifying?

Mine just sat there while I was on DI. When I recovered and was back to job searching I reopened it because my benefit year wasn't over yet. You reopen through UI Online, you don't have to refile from scratch.

That's good to know about reopening - I didn't realize you could do that after going on DI without losing the whole claim.

Unemployment requires you to be able and available for work every week you certify. If you're genuinely unable to work because of an injury, certifying that you're able and available when you're not would be inaccurate - and that can create overpayment problems. So yes, you'd stop UI and file for DI.

ugh okay that makes more sense but it still feels like a lot to juggle when you're literally dealing with a medical issue

The transition isn't as complicated once you know to do it. The DI form through SDI Online walks you through it step by step and your doctor fills out part of it. Just don't wait more than 49 days after the disability starts or you lose those weeks.

Are the base period wages they look at for DI the same as the ones used for unemployment? Or does DI use a different time frame?

EDD uses different base periods for DI and UI, so the amounts can come out differently. The specific calculation details are on EDD's site under the SDI section. The short version is they're both based on your past earnings but calculated separately.

The amounts really can be different. My DI benefit ended up being higher than my UI had been because the base period for DI included some high overtime months.

I've heard of PFL but I never really understood how it fit in. So PFL is for caregiving or bonding with a baby, DI is for your own medical condition, and UI is for when you're out of work but able to work - is that the right way to think about it?

You got it exactly right. And the rule that links them all is that you can only be paid through one of the three at a time for the same days. No doubling up.

Also PFL has its own filing deadline - no later than 41 days after the leave starts. Different from the DI deadline.

Pending weeks in UI Online don't automatically disappear. If EDD resolves them while you're on DI and they were weeks before your disability started, those would still be UI weeks. The overlap issue only applies to the same days being claimed under both programs.

That's a relief actually. I have several pending weeks and was worried about losing them entirely if I need to file for DI.

Keep certifying for the weeks before the disability starts so those weeks stay in the system. It's the weeks after your doctor takes you off work where you stop certifying for UI.

Yep, you reopen the existing claim through UI Online. As long as your benefit year hasn't ended, you don't start over. I did exactly this after my surgery recovery.

Does the weekly benefit amount stay the same when you reopen? Or does EDD recalculate it?

Mine stayed the same - the weekly amount was locked in from the original DE 429Z when I first filed. The base period doesn't change mid-claim.

Yeah I'm thinking I need to actually talk to someone at EDD about this. My injury situation is kind of in a grey zone right now - not fully off work but definitely not able to do what I was doing before.

For the grey zone stuff the phone is really the way to go. EDD's live chat through the Help button in UI Online is available weekdays 9 to 2 if you want to try that first before calling.

This is a really useful point. My doctor has mentioned surgery as a possibility but hasn't formally restricted me yet. So I should keep certifying for now?

If you're still able and available for some type of work and actively looking, yes. The switch happens when you're genuinely unable to work, not when surgery is a possibility. Document everything your doctor tells you so you have a clear timeline.

But what if EDD decides later that you weren't really available during those weeks? Could that create an overpayment?

If you honestly certify that you're able and available and you genuinely are - even with physical limitations - that's accurate. An overpayment happens when what you certify doesn't match your actual situation. The key word is honest.

Workers' comp is its own world. For the original poster with a back injury from a previous job and now a layoff, it matters a lot whether the injury is work-related at the current employer, an old work injury, or not work-related at all. Work-related injuries go through workers' comp. Non-work injuries go through SDI/DI if you're unable to work.

Right, and workers' comp is on EDD's list of things you report when certifying for UI. EDD decides how that affects your payment. It's not simple.

Applying for DI when you have a genuine medical condition isn't suspicious - EDD runs both programs and there's no penalty for applying to both. What matters is accurate certification. The only issue would be if you certified for UI during weeks you were actually unable to work because of the disability, which would be an inaccurate certification.

okay that makes me feel better i was worried they would just deny both

CalJOBS registration is tied to your UI claim, not DI. During DI you're not certifying for UI so the work search requirements don't apply - you're on a completely separate program. When you recover and go back to UI, you'd need to be back to meeting the able and available and looking for work requirements to certify again.

That makes sense. I wasn't sure if CalJOBS would somehow flag a gap in activity during the DI period and cause problems when you go back to UI.

The gap in UI certifications is explained by the DI period. EDD can see both claims in the system. When you reopen the UI claim after recovery, you just go back to certifying normally.

For DI, EDD notifies your last employer like they do with unemployment - they send a notice when a claim is filed. Your employer can respond to it. It's not secret from them.

Hm, that's something I hadn't thought about. My situation is kind of complicated because I haven't told my employer yet about the severity of the injury.

For UI specifically, EDD mails the last employer a notice and gives them 10 days to respond. For DI it's worth checking EDD's SDI section directly since the employer notification process can differ between the programs.

The 49-day deadline keeps coming up in this thread and your situation really drives home why. I'm going to look into filing sooner rather than later just to understand the process even if I don't need it immediately.

It's worth at least creating an SDI Online account and reading through the form before you need it. The process isn't complicated but you don't want to be figuring it out from scratch when you're also dealing with pain and doctors.

The doctor's portion of the form is also time-sensitive on their end. Doctors get busy and sometimes take a while to submit their section, so the earlier you initiate the claim the better.

Pension income and UI is a separate issue from DI. For unemployment, EDD may reduce your benefit based on a pension you're drawing from past work. For DI the calculation is based on your wages, and EDD decides how other income interacts with it. That's worth confirming directly with EDD since the two programs are separate.

Got it, I'll ask EDD directly since my situation is complicated. I've been having trouble getting through on the phone actually.

Reaching EDD by phone right now has been genuinely rough, same boat here. I had a pending weeks question on my UI claim and ended up using Claimyr to get a live agent on the line - I'd been trying to call for three days. The agent confirmed my identity verification was still open and walked me through what to do next to clear it.

Did they actually resolve everything in that one call or did you have to follow up?

The identity issue itself needed me to complete ID.me but the agent told me exactly what step was pending and what it was holding up. That alone saved me a lot of guessing.

How do you find out what your DI weekly amount would be before you actually need to file?

EDD has a benefit calculator on their site that estimates both. It's not the final number but it gives you a ballpark so you're not completely in the dark.

The DI amount isn't guaranteed to be lower than UI either - depends on which wages fall into each program's base period. I've seen it go both ways.

The two programs run on separate timelines. DI has its own benefit period based on your disability and wage history - it doesn't depend on how many UI weeks you have left or used up. Using DI doesn't eat into your UI weeks either, since you're not certifying for UI during DI. They're genuinely independent programs that just happen to share the same rule about not paying simultaneously for the same days.

So theoretically if I had 26 weeks of UI left, got injured and went on DI for 10 weeks, then recovered, I'd still have those 26 weeks of UI available as long as my benefit year hadn't ended?

The weeks you didn't certify for UI during the DI period stay in your claim, yes - as long as the benefit year is still open. If the benefit year expires during the DI period you'd need to refile, but that's a timing question EDD can answer for your specific claim.

okay this thread has been incredibly informative but also my head is spinning a little from all the different rules lol

This is the clearest summary of everything in this thread. Apply for both, certify accurately, and EDD handles which one pays you based on what you report. I think I finally have a clear enough picture to move forward. I'm going to file for DI as a precaution given where my injury is heading and keep certifying for UI for now while I'm still able and available.

That sounds like the right approach. Keep your doctor updated on your status changes and report everything accurately on your certifications. That's really all you can do from your end.

claimyr worked well for me too when I had a question during my own layoff - DE 1101CZ from my employer looked weird and I wanted to know if EDD had received it. The agent confirmed it was in the system and told me the interview notice would go out within the standard timeframe. Cleared up a week of worry.

Good to know there are options for actually reaching someone at EDD when you have a specific question about your own claim. I'll keep that in mind if things get complicated.