Can anyone get unemployment in California EDD? What actually makes you eligible?

The base period thing kind of clicked now, thank you. So because I was full time the whole 14 months, the wages in my strongest three-month stretch should definitely hit those thresholds?

Yeah exactly, full time wages for a full quarter should put you well above those minimums. The weekly benefit amount comes from your highest-earning quarter specifically, and EDD has a calculator on their site where you can plug in your numbers and get an estimate before you even apply.

Same situation I was in last year. Warehouse job, laid off, never filed before. Ended up getting approved with no issues at all once I got the paperwork submitted through UI Online.

Wait so the first week I certify I won't get paid for it? That waiting week thing threw me off. Do I still have to certify for that week even though it's unpaid?

You still certify for it, yes. The first certification usually covers the waiting week plus the following week, so you answer questions for both at once. Only the second week actually pays out, but you need to go through the whole process for both.

I totally missed this when I first filed and thought something was wrong with my claim when the first payment was smaller than expected. The waiting week doesn't reduce your total, it just means week one is always unpaid.

edd really buries this information lol i had no idea about the waiting week until after the fact

Six weeks of Pending with no explanation sounds absolutely miserable. I'm glad you found out what was going on. What ended up happening after the interview?

The interview went fine, they asked about why I left and I explained it was a layoff, and payments started processing for the pending weeks after EDD made its decision. It was just the waiting and not knowing that was the brutal part.

DE 4800 is the notice that has the interview date and time on it right? I got one of those and completely missed the time. Had to phone EDD the same day to figure out next steps.

Yes that's the one. The interviewer phones at the time printed on the DE 4800, and it's also on your UI Online homepage. Missing it is stressful but calling EDD the same day is the right move.

Good to know the job type doesn't matter. I was wondering if warehouse or hourly work was treated differently than salaried positions or something.

Nope, EDD looks at wages and reason for separation, not whether you were salaried or hourly or what industry you were in. The weekly benefit amount calculation is the same across the board.

I actually thought for a long time that part time workers couldn't get unemployment at all. Turns out you can as long as your base period wages hit the thresholds, which part time for a long stretch can definitely do.

Wait I thought if you quit for ANY reason you couldn't get unemployment, that's what my coworker told me. So that's not actually true?

Your coworker has it backwards. Quitting doesn't automatically disqualify you, but you do have to show EDD that you had a good reason. EDD schedules a phone interview to hear your side and the employer's side before deciding. It's harder than a layoff but it's not impossible.

ok that actually changes things for me personally. I've been thinking about leaving my current job for some pretty serious reasons and thought I'd just be out of luck if I did.

EDD also asks about whether you requested a leave of absence before quitting, so that's worth knowing if the reason involves something like a health issue or a family situation.

That range is wider than I expected honestly. The $450 cap surprised me, I was hoping it might be higher given the cost of living here.

Yeah the cap is what it is unfortunately. It's been there a while. Some people's actual earnings would put them higher but $450 is the ceiling regardless.

My DE 429Z came and I didn't understand what the maximum benefit amount meant vs the weekly amount. Took me a while to figure out the max is essentially how many weeks of benefits the whole claim covers.

Nobody mentioned CalJOBS to me before, glad I'm seeing this now. So I register there separately from myEDD and post a resume and that's it?

Exactly, it's a separate site and a separate step from your EDD claim but they're linked. EDD tells you on the DE 8405 whether you need to do it and by when. If you don't get that notice EDD may have already determined you don't need to.

I completely forgot about CalJOBS during my claim and payments did get held up. Had to contact EDD to get it sorted out. Really not worth skipping.

caljobs kinda feels like a whole separate bureaucracy but once you get the resume up it's pretty much set it and forget it for most people

I did apply online so hopefully the ID.me step is straightforward. How long did the verification take for you once you submitted the photo?

Mine went through in about a day or two. Just make sure you're in decent lighting when you take the photo, I had to redo mine the first time because it was too dark.

ID.me was the most stressful part of my whole application honestly. Once it cleared though the claim moved forward and I stopped seeing the identity-related pending flags in my Claim History.

Oh that's actually really useful to know while I'm job searching. So if I pick up some temp work I don't have to stop certifying entirely?

Right, you just report the wages for the week you earned them, not when you get paid. Full time work does end eligibility for that specific week whatever it pays, but part time hours are fine to work and report.

Just to add to this, you report wages in the week you earned them, which catches people off guard when they get paid two weeks later. The timing of your paycheck doesn't change which week to report.

I thought I had to stop certifying the moment I got any work at all. Would have missed out on benefits I was entitled to. The partial week calculation is way more forgiving than I assumed.

The severance question is relevant to me too actually, my employer is giving me two weeks of severance. So I can still file now even with that coming?

That's what the agent confirmed for my situation. File right away because the claim start date is the Sunday of the week you apply, and waiting costs you weeks you can't get back. Report the severance when you certify and let EDD sort out what it means for your specific payments.

This matches what EDD's guidance says. Severance under a company plan isn't treated the same as wages, but it's still on the list of things to report when certifying. Filing immediately makes sense regardless.

EDD cares about the substance, not really the exact phrasing. "Position eliminated" and "restructuring" are both going to read as layoffs where you were let go through no fault of your own. The important distinction is whether there was any misconduct on your part, and a standard layoff doesn't involve that.

ok good because my layoff paperwork says something kind of vague and I was worried it would cause issues

EDD also contacts your last employer after you file, so whatever your employer says on their end matters too. For a standard layoff both sides usually say the same thing and there's no conflict to resolve.

That's actually a helpful reframe. I think I got lost in all the forms and timelines and forgot the basic question is just about wages and reason for leaving.

Exactly. And if something does get complicated, the Notice of Determination will explain EDD's reasoning and you have 30 days from the mailing date to appeal if you think they got it wrong.

The appeal process exists for a reason. I appealed an overpayment notice once and having the Appeal Form, the DE 1000M, was the starting point. You mail it to the address on the notice. The whole thing felt intimidating but it's more straightforward than it sounds.

I would never lie on it, I'm just nervous about the whole process because I've never done it before. Everything about my situation is exactly what I said - straightforward layoff.

Then you have nothing to stress about. Straightforward layoffs are the simplest claims to process. The complications come in when there's a dispute or when stories don't line up.

And fraud isn't just losing benefits, there's a 30 percent penalty added to whatever you owe back and it can result in a disqualification for up to 23 weeks on future claims. EDD takes it seriously.

Good to know ahead of time, I'll probably opt into the federal withholding so I don't have a big bill at the end of the year. Is that something you choose when you first apply or later?

You can choose it at each certification, it's not a one-time setup. So you have flexibility to change it if your situation changes throughout the year.

i didn't know about the 1099G until i got one in the mail and thought it was junk mail at first lol. glad i didn't throw it out

Super helpful, I didn't know there was a separate payment line. I'll bookmark that number.

Payment info in UI Online also updates daily so if you check Claim History and see your weeks move from Pending to processed, the deposit usually follows quickly.

The 24-hour payment line saved me a lot of unnecessary worry during my claim. Checking it became part of my routine during the weeks I was waiting.

Though if you have an actual question that needs a person, that number won't help. That's when you need the main line or the live chat in UI Online, which runs weekdays 9 to 2.

I didn't even know the live chat existed until now. That could be really useful for quick questions. I'll try that before sitting on hold.

Just know the hours are limited. If it's past 2 p.m. or on a Friday afternoon you're out of luck with chat. The Help button is there but the agent option won't be available outside those hours.

I tried the chat and it took about 20 minutes to get to someone during peak hours, but it was way less painful than the phone queue. Worth it for simple questions.

That's what's getting me right now, the not knowing. I keep refreshing UI Online looking for something to change.

totally normal, everyone does it lol. the pending status just sits there and then one day it updates

If weeks stay Pending for a long stretch without explanation, that's usually a sign there's something EDD needs to decide before they can process payment. Could be identity verification, could be an open eligibility question. That's when calling or chatting actually makes sense to find out what specifically is holding things up.

CalJOBS not being confirmed on EDD's end even after you registered sounds like exactly the kind of thing you'd never figure out just from staring at UI Online.

Exactly. The agent could actually see my account and tell me what was flagged. That's the kind of specific information UI Online just doesn't show you as a claimant.

I'm going to try that if my weeks end up stuck. Having someone who can actually look at your file is so much more useful than the automated info.

For a layoff would they even schedule a phone interview or is that only if there's a dispute?

Usually a clean layoff doesn't trigger one. It tends to come up when there's a question about a quit or a firing, or when the employer's response to EDD raises something that needs clarification. If you don't get a DE 4800, you likely don't have an interview scheduled.

Though if the employer contests the layoff for any reason EDD might still schedule one to hear both sides. Worth knowing about just in case, but as you said, a standard uncontested layoff usually goes through without it.

My interview was for a quit situation and it was honestly less scary than I built it up to be. They ask specific questions about timing and what happened and you just answer. It felt more like giving a statement than an interrogation.

Good to know going in. Hopefully I'll have something lined up well before 26 weeks but it's useful to have the full picture.

And if you do find work and then lose it again while your benefit year is still open, you reopen the existing claim through UI Online rather than filing a brand new one.

The 52-week benefit year clock starting from your application date is something I wish I'd understood earlier. Applied late and lost weeks I could have been collecting for.

Yep, applying as soon as you're out of work matters precisely because that clock starts immediately. Waiting a few weeks thinking you'll find something fast can cost you weeks you can't get back if the search runs long.