Can my husband collect partial EDD benefits with weekend part-time job after full-time unemployment?
Hi everyone! My husband just got approved for regular UI benefits yesterday after being laid off from his manufacturing job of 5 years. This morning he received an offer for a part-time weekend position at a local retailer (around 16-20 hours per weekend). The timing is crazy! We're trying to figure out if he can still collect some unemployment while working this part-time job? The weekend job would pay about $430/week, which is significantly less than his previous full-time income of $1,250/week. His weekly benefit amount from EDD is $550. I've heard about partial unemployment but don't fully understand how it works. Would he need to report this new income immediately? Would he lose all benefits or just have them reduced? Any advice would be really appreciated!
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AstroAdventurer
Yes, he can definitely still collect partial unemployment while working part-time! This is actually very common. He'll need to report his part-time earnings each time he certifies for benefits. EDD uses a formula where they deduct a portion of his earnings from his weekly benefit amount. The basic calculation is that the first $25 or 25% of his earnings (whichever is greater) doesn't count against him, then the rest reduces his benefit dollar for dollar. For example, with his $430 weekly income, they would exclude $107.50 (25% of $430), leaving $322.50 that would be deducted from his weekly benefit amount of $550. So he'd still receive approximately $227.50 in UI benefits each week, plus his part-time wages. Make sure he honestly reports all earnings during the weeks he certifies - EDD is very strict about this and will check with employers.
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Carmen Lopez
•Thank you so much for breaking that down! That calculation makes a lot more sense now. So he'd still be getting about $657 total per week between the part-time job and partial benefits. That's a huge relief - we were worried he'd have to choose between taking the part-time job or keeping his full unemployment. One more question - when exactly should he report this new job? Should he wait until his first certification, or is there somewhere he needs to update his information right away when he accepts the job offer?
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Andre Dupont
the system is RIGGED against people trying to work!!! I had a part time job last year while on unemployment and EDD completely messed up my payments. they kept putting everything as 'pending' for weeks after I reported my earnings, then they suddenly stopped ALL payments saying I was 'earning too much' when I wasnt!! took 6 WEEKS to straighten out and nearly got evicted waiting for them to fix THEIR mistakes. and good luck trying to get someone on the phone. they NEVER answer.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
•I had the same thing happen!!! So frustrating. EDD kept switching between paying me and putting me on pending for 3 months. But I will say once I finally got through to a rep they fixed everything and even gave me backpay. Just keep trying to call them.
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Jamal Wilson
I was in your husband's exact position in January. When you certify, there's a question asking if you worked or earned any money for that week. He'll select 'yes' and report his gross earnings (before taxes) for each week. Important: he reports earnings when he EARNS them, not when he gets paid. So if he works Saturday and Sunday but doesn't get paid until the following Friday, he still reports those earnings for the week he actually worked. Also, make sure he answers 'yes' to the question about looking for work each week. Even with part-time work, he needs to make at least 3 job contacts per week for full-time employment to maintain eligibility. He should keep a record of these job search activities since EDD sometimes requests proof. And don't stress about the timing of reporting the new job - he just needs to report it during his next certification period. There's no separate form to fill out immediately after accepting the offer.
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Mei Lin
•wait i thought you only had to do 1 job search activity per week now??? did they change it back to 3?? crap ive only been doing 1
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Liam Fitzgerald
everyone saying he can work part time AND get benefits is right but make sure he knows exactly when his certification weeks start and end (usually sunday-saturday). if he messes up reporting which days he worked he could get flagged for fraud even if it was just a mistake. happened to my cousin
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GalacticGuru
•This is really important advice. EDD is super particular about accuracy. I accidentally reported my hours for the wrong week once because I was confused about when the week started/ended, and I ended up having to go through a phone interview to explain it was just an honest mistake. Biggest headache ever trying to get that sorted out.
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Mei Lin
congrats to ur husband for getting a job! but be careful, sometimes part time work can mess up ur benefits. my friend was getting like $25 in benefits after her part time job and then edd just cut her off completely saying it wasnt worth processing for such small amounts. idk if thats normal but just warning u
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AstroAdventurer
•That's not accurate. EDD doesn't cut people off because the benefit amount is too small to process. As long as you're eligible for at least $1 in UI benefits, you'll receive payment. Your friend was likely disqualified for another reason - perhaps not meeting work search requirements or exceeding the income threshold for their specific benefit amount.
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Amara Nnamani
If you're having trouble reaching EDD about this situation, I'd recommend trying Claimyr. I was in a similar situation with partial unemployment questions and spent days trying to get through to EDD with no luck. Claimyr got me connected to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes. They have a service that basically calls EDD for you and then connects you once they reach a representative. Saved me hours of frustration! Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km
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Carmen Lopez
•Thank you for this suggestion! I've never heard of this service before but it sounds really helpful. My husband's situation seems pretty straightforward based on the responses here, but if we run into any issues with his partial benefits not calculating correctly, this could be a lifesaver. I'll bookmark that link.
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Jamal Wilson
One more important thing I forgot to mention - make sure your husband carefully answers the question about whether he refused any work during certification. Since he's accepting the part-time job offer, he should answer 'no' to this question. If he answers 'yes' (thinking they're asking if he's refused any FULL-TIME work), it will trigger a eligibility interview and delay his payments.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
•omg THIS!!!! i messed this up and ended up with a 3 week delay while they did an interview with me. so stressful.
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GalacticGuru
In my experience, part-time work while on unemployment was actually beneficial overall. Not only did I still get some UI benefits, but it also extended how long my claim lasted since I wasn't using my full benefit amount each week. Plus, it kept my resume active and eventually led to a full-time position at the same company. Just make sure your husband is precise with his reporting and keeps good records of hours worked and earnings each week. Taking a photo of each timesheet or schedule can be helpful if questions come up later.
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Carmen Lopez
•That's a great point about extending the claim period - I hadn't thought about that benefit! And thank you for the tip about keeping documentation. We'll definitely start a folder to track all his hours, earnings and job search activities. Hopefully this part-time position could lead to something more substantial for him too!
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