Can I get unemployment if I get terminated from my job in California?

The 'employer has to prove it' part is what I keep hearing but I didn't know if that was actually how it works or just wishful thinking. Good to know it's real.

Came to say the same thing. My old manager tried claiming I had performance problems too and EDD ultimately decided in my favor. Document everything you remember about those last weeks while it's still fresh.

Already writing things down. I want to have a clear picture of what happened in case I need to explain it.

How long between the interview and finding out the decision? I'm trying to plan finances around this.

Mine was about two and a half weeks before the payments showed up in UI Online. Keep certifying every two weeks no matter what - you need those certified weeks on record if EDD decides in your favor.

Adjudication pending over here too. How exactly did you get the agent to tell you what was in your file? I didn't know you could ask that.

wait so even if youre fired you can still get unemployment?? i always thought fired = no benefits. learned something new today

Super common misconception. The word 'fired' doesn't decide it - what matters is whether there was real misconduct. Plenty of people get terminated and still collect.

My HR literally told me I wouldn't qualify when they let me go. Turns out that wasn't their call to make at all. EDD makes the decision, not your former employer.

So I should be watching my mail closely for that DE 4800. How fast does it usually arrive after filing?

Usually within the first week or two in my experience, but the interview date itself was about three weeks after I filed. Just keep checking UI Online too because the date shows there as well.

Mine showed up faster than I expected honestly. Keep your phone nearby that whole week the interview is scheduled because the interviewer calls right at the time listed.

Got it, keeping the phone on me constantly once I know the date. Last thing I want is to miss that call.

I had no idea about CalJOBS being part of this. So that's completely separate from the UI Online stuff?

Yeah it's a different system entirely - CalJOBS is for job searching and EDD links your claim to it. UI Online is where you certify and check payment status. You need both going at the same time.

Can confirm this tripped me up too. Got so focused on the EDD side that I totally forgot about CalJOBS and my payments paused for like two weeks while I sorted it out.

Five weeks is helpful to know for planning purposes. Did your employer show up to the interview or was it just you talking to EDD?

EDD does separate interviews - they call you at one time and your employer at a different time. You dont talk to your employer directly, just to the EDD interviewer. way less stressful than i expected

wait they interview both sides separately?? i thought it was like a three way call or something. that makes way more sense

Okay that's genuinely helpful because I would have definitely panicked seeing an unpaid week. So the total amount I can collect isn't affected by it?

Right, the maximum benefit amount stays the same. The waiting week just shifts when payment starts, it doesn't eat into your total.

Lots of people think the waiting week means EDD denied them or something went wrong. It's just part of how every California UI claim works from the start.

How do I know what my weekly amount should be roughly? Is there a way to estimate it before the DE 429Z arrives?

EDD has an Unemployment Benefit Calculator on their site at edd.ca.gov - plug in your quarterly wages and it gives you an estimate. It's not exact but close enough to plan around.

The benefit amount comes from whatever your highest paid quarter was during your base period. If you had a good quarter at the warehouse that number is what EDD uses to calculate it.

The fact that you can appeal is really reassuring. Did you represent yourself or get help for the hearing?

Represented myself. The judge was fair and just asked me to walk through what happened. Having written notes from when I was actually terminated helped a lot - dates, what was said, who was there.

appeals also remind me - keep certifying even during an appeal or you lose those weeks entirely. you can only get paid for weeks you actually certified

Tenure itself isn't really a factor in the eligibility decision - EDD cares about the reason for separation and whether misconduct happened, not how long you worked there. That said, a long employment history with no prior issues could matter if the employer tries to claim there was a pattern of misconduct.

okay makes sense. i assumed longer = better but its really about why you got let go not how long you were there

Haven't gotten anything like that yet but I'm watching the mail carefully now. Added this to my mental checklist.

ID.me stuff can also sometimes get stuck even after you do it. If your Claim History in UI Online still shows pending after a week or so, worth checking in with EDD to confirm they received the verification.

That's a good point - I'll double check in UI Online a week after if I end up needing to do the ID.me step.

Did that work out for getting the pending weeks resolved eventually?

Yes - once the interview happened and EDD made the decision, both pending weeks processed and payment posted within a few days.

The pending weeks situation is exactly what I'm dreading. Good to know there's a way to actually get answers when you need them.

so like accidentally messing up at work isnt misconduct but intentionally doing something wrong is? that actually makes sense

Basically yes. The intent element matters a lot. An honest mistake looks very different to EDD than something that looks deliberate.

My former employer claimed I had performance issues and EDD asked them to send documentation. They couldn't produce anything because there was none, and that was pretty much the end of it.

I didn't even think about the payment method setup. Going to log into myEDD right now and check what it's set to.

Direct deposit was the fastest for me personally. Had payment in my account usually within 24 hours of certifying online.

You register in CalJOBS and post your resume - that's the requirement EDD tracks. For the ongoing work search part, you need to be actively looking for work and able to work every week you certify, but EDD doesn't give a specific number of contacts you need to hit per week publicly. The CalJOBS registration is the specific thing with the 21-day deadline on that DE 8405 notice.

okay so the resume part is the actual requirement not necessarily applying through CalJOBS itself. that clears it up

Right, CalJOBS is more of a job search resource - resume help, job fairs, listings - but the EDD requirement is registering and posting the resume, not specifically using CalJOBS to apply to every job.

Hadn't even thought about the tax part yet. I'll set up the withholding from day one so I don't get hit with a surprise bill.

Smart move. I skipped it thinking I'd deal with it later and then owed more than I expected at tax time.

My HR implied something similar and I was so worried they had some kind of power to deny me directly. Good to hear that's not how it actually works.

Employers responding to EDD and providing documentation is part of the process, but yeah - EDD is the one with the actual authority here, not the former employer.

my old boss said the same thing lol. 'ill make sure you dont get it.' EDD approved me in like 4 weeks

The standard base period EDD uses is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim starts. So that most recent quarter might not be in there. If the standard base period doesn't give you enough wages to have a valid claim, EDD automatically switches to the alternate base period which uses your four most recent completed quarters. But the alternate only kicks in if the standard doesn't qualify you - it won't switch just to get you a higher weekly amount.

So if the raise was recent it might fall outside the standard period entirely. That's kind of frustrating but at least I understand why now.

EDD's benefit calculator on their site helps you figure out which quarter was your highest - if you plug in your earnings by quarter you can see what your weekly amount should work out to.

Sorry to hear the first one didn't go your way. The second time around did you do anything differently to prepare for the interview?

Had way more notes the second time. Wrote down everything I could remember about the last few months - performance reviews (or lack of them), any conversations with supervisors, dates I could recall. The interviewer asked some really specific questions and having a written record helped a lot.

Notes are seriously underrated. I had bullet points of every incident in reverse chronological order and it made the interview feel so much less overwhelming.

I was actually going to wait until after the interview to certify because I didn't know if I should be doing it before the decision. Really glad someone said this.

Nope - certify starting from the week you're eligible. The interview and adjudication process can run while you're certifying. EDD pays out the certified weeks once they decide in your favor.

i made this mistake once and lost like 3 weeks of benefits i couldve had. certify every two weeks no matter what, cannot say this enough

That's good to hear about tone. I'm pretty frustrated honestly but I'll keep it factual in the interview.

Completely understandable to be frustrated - I was too. But saving the venting for friends and keeping the EDD interview strictly to facts helped me stay focused and clear.

Agreed on this. The interviewer is trying to establish facts about the separation, not hear about workplace drama. The cleaner your timeline, the easier it is for them to understand what happened.

I didn't know live chat was an option inside UI Online. I'll try that for simpler questions and save the phone line for the bigger stuff.

Live chat worked for me for a quick certification question but when I had the pending weeks issue from adjudication I needed someone who could actually see my account details. That's when I ended up using Claimyr to get a live EDD agent on the phone - the agent pulled up my file and walked me through exactly which weeks were flagged and why.

Yeah that tracks - live chat has limitations when it's something specific to your account. Phone access is worth it for the adjudication stuff.

I hadn't thought about the possibility the employer might just not respond. Does that automatically mean I get approved?

Not automatically - EDD still evaluates the claim with the information they have. But with no employer documentation or response, there's nothing contradicting your version of events, which generally works in your favor.

Happened to a friend of mine - employer talked tough but never actually responded to EDD. Friend got approved. Sometimes the loudest ones do the least.