Can part-time employees get unemployment? California EDD rules explained

Wait so the starting date is literally when I file, not when my hours got slashed two months ago? I lost so much money already thinking I had to wait and figure this out first.

Filing date is what sets the start - the claim week begins on the Sunday of the week you apply. Those two months before you filed aren't recoverable, unfortunately. Get the application in today if you can.

the $1300 in one quarter thing is the minimum - most people who worked steady part-time hours for over a year are well above that. the weekly benefit amount comes from your highest-paid quarter specifically

So I report the 6-hour weeks as wages even though I'm still on their payroll? I was worried that would mess up my claim or make EDD think I'm still employed full-time.

Reporting partial wages is exactly what you're supposed to do. EDD has an earnings formula - roughly the first $25 or 25% of what you made that week (whichever is bigger) doesn't count against you, and the rest gets subtracted from your weekly benefit amount. So you'd still get a partial payment for weeks you work a little.

yeah this is how it worked for me too, i reported like $80 one week and still got most of my benefit amount that week. just make sure you report what you earned the week you earned it, not when the paycheck actually hits your bank

$280 from part-time wages is pretty solid honestly. Did they count every employer you'd worked for in that base period or just the main one?

The agent said EDD pulls wages from all employers during the base period automatically through their wage records - I had two jobs at the time and both quarters counted. I didn't have to do anything extra for the second job.

my hours got cut too and ive been going back and forth about filing, wasnt sure part time counted. might try that to get a straight answer about my own base period wages before i go through the whole application

How long does it take to get that notice after applying? I'm trying to figure out when I'd actually see any money.

Processing a new application takes roughly three weeks before the first payment comes through. The DE 429Z usually arrives in that window. Keep certifying every two weeks from the start even if everything shows pending - you need those weeks certified for EDD to pay them.

three weeks feels like forever when your hours just disappeared but it really does take that long for the first one. after that payments come faster once the claim is active

wait employers pay the whole thing? i always thought the deduction on my check was going toward unemployment

The CASDI deduction on your stub goes toward State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave - completely separate programs. Unemployment is funded by the employer side only. So 'I paid into it' or 'I didn't pay into it' is just not how the system works.

Okay this actually makes me feel better because I did have that same thought - like maybe I hadn't put in enough to deserve it. Good to know that's not how it works at all.

I had no idea about CalJOBS - I've never heard of it before this thread. Is the registration complicated?

The registration itself is pretty straightforward, you just create a profile and post a resume. The 21-day clock starts from the date on the DE 8405 notice EDD mails you, not from when you filed. Just don't let that deadline slip by without noticing.

i completely forgot about calJOBS when i first filed and my payments stopped for two weeks until i sorted it out. do not skip this step

By gross do you mean before taxes come out? So like if I earned $90 at 6 hours I report $90 not whatever ends up in my bank account?

Exactly - gross wages before any deductions. Report the full $90. EDD's formula works from gross and calculates what you get paid from there.

also worth knowing - vacation pay, severance, holiday pay all go on that same report. a lot of people don't realize those count too

So the very first payment is smaller because one of those two weeks is the waiting week? That's annoying but at least it's just the one time.

Right, just the one time and it doesn't reduce what your claim can ultimately pay - the total stays the same, you just get that first week unpaid.

Did EDD contact your employer about the hour cuts? I'm a little worried about how my supervisor would react to knowing I filed.

EDD does notify your last employer when you file - that's standard. Mine knew. But hours being cut by the employer is exactly the kind of situation unemployment is for, so they can't really say much about it.

employer notification is normal, they get a DE 1101CZ in the mail. if they respond and disagree EDD might schedule a phone interview with you to hear both sides, but hour cuts through no fault of yours should be straightforward

wait so there are two different base periods they look at? why don't they just always use the most recent one to give you the highest amount

The alternate base period is only a fallback for when the standard one doesn't get you to the minimum threshold for a valid claim - it's not a tool for getting a higher weekly amount if the standard base period already qualifies you. EDD decides which one applies automatically.

This is accurate - the alternate base period exists so people with recent work history can still qualify, not to maximize the benefit amount. Someone who had part-time wages spread evenly over the whole base period wouldn't see a difference in their weekly amount from switching.

$195 on part-time wages still helps though. Did you have any issues with the work search requirements while you were on claim?

EDD expects you to be looking for work every week you certify - able to work, available for work, actually looking. I kept notes on where I applied just for my own records but EDD's pages don't give you a specific number to hit. Just actually be looking.

the able and available piece matters a lot - if something comes up that makes you unavailable to work in a given week, you technically can't certify for that week. a doctor's appointment is fine, but like a planned trip where you couldn't accept a job offer is different

Is the ID.me thing part of the initial application or does it come after?

It's tied to the myEDD account setup - you go through ID.me as part of creating or logging into your account to file. If anything doesn't match up, that DE 1326C comes later asking for more.

i got a DE 1326C when i filed from a new address and my ID still had my old one. had to do extra verification steps but it got sorted out in about a week

I just tried the calculator - it's showing my weekly benefit around $230 based on what I think I earned each quarter. Is that estimate usually close to the actual amount?

The calculator estimate is pretty close but the official number comes on the DE 429Z after EDD processes your wages. Sometimes there are small differences because EDD pulls actual wage records from employers rather than your estimate.

the DE 429Z number is the one that matters - if you think it's wrong after you get it, you can appeal in writing within 30 days of the mailing date on the notice

Is the Money Network card the EDD card I keep hearing about? I was expecting something from Bank of America based on what an older coworker said.

EDD switched from Bank of America - the card now comes from Money Network. Your coworker is probably thinking of how it worked a few years back. Same idea, different card issuer.

yeah the BofA card was retired. Money Network card, comes in a plain envelope so watch the mail carefully or it's easy to miss

EDD pulls wages from all employers in the base period automatically - both jobs' wages factor into the weekly benefit amount whether she mentions them or not. For the job that's still going, she'd report those ongoing wages each time she certifies the same way you'd report any part-time earnings.

oh so the weekly benefit amount includes what she made at both jobs during the base period, but she still certifies and reports the ongoing wages from the job she kept? that actually makes sense

exactly right. the application asks for all employers from the last 18 months, so she should list both. EDD cross-references wage records so leaving one out would just cause a discrepancy

Mine is definitely an hours-cut situation, not a quit or firing. So does that mean I probably won't have a phone interview?

A phone interview is typically scheduled when there's a question about why you stopped working or whether you meet eligibility requirements - quits, firings, that kind of thing. Hours reduced by the employer through no fault of yours is usually more straightforward. That said, EDD decides, and if something flags on your claim they can still schedule one.

if EDD does schedule a phone interview for any reason, the notice is a DE 4800 and the date and time are on it plus on your UI Online homepage. The interviewer phones at the time listed - miss it and you should contact EDD the same day, otherwise they decide from just the info they have

I had no idea unemployment was taxable at all. Is the 10% federal withholding option something you pick once or do you change it every time you certify?

You can opt into it when you certify and change it going forward - it's not locked in permanently. Some people prefer to manage it themselves rather than have it withheld, but if you're getting any significant amount it's worth thinking about to avoid a surprise in April.

the 1099G also shows in UI Online which is handy if EDD mail goes missing. you can access it in Payments then Form 1099G, available through the end of January for the prior year

I hadn't thought about CalFresh at all honestly. Is it a complicated application?

Apply at BenefitsCal or by phone at the number above - county determines eligibility based on household income. Worth a quick look while you're waiting for the first EDD payment to come through since those first three weeks before anything arrives can be tight.

so calJOBS being incomplete can hold up weeks that are already certified? i didn't realize it was that connected to actual payments

That's what the agent told me - my certified weeks were sitting pending specifically because the CalJOBS registration wasn't done. Finishing it cleared the hold pretty fast.

This is the second time CalJOBS has come up as something that held payments - definitely not skipping that step now.

How would I even know if the calculated amount is wrong? I don't have all my old pay stubs memorized.

Payroll records from your employer are the main thing - you can request them if you don't have copies. Compare your quarterly earnings to what the DE 429Z shows as the base period wages. If EDD's quarterly figure is lower than what you actually made, that's worth appealing.

Also worth knowing: a wage raise in your most recent quarter might fall outside the standard base period entirely - that's not an error, it's just how the base period is defined. So don't appeal just because a recent raise isn't reflected; that's expected.

If hours come back but only to like 15 or 20 hours instead of the original 25, would I still be able to certify and get partial benefits?

Yes - partial wages get reported and the benefit amount adjusts down based on the earnings formula. You wouldn't necessarily lose the whole benefit just because some hours came back, as long as you're not working full-time.

the report wages screen in UI Online lets you log earnings before certifying to see how the formula affects your payment that week. useful for planning when you have variable hours week to week

$215 a week for two months you missed out on is real money. I'm filing tonight. Thank you everyone in this thread - I went from thinking I definitely didn't qualify to being pretty confident I do.

Good luck with the application - have your last employer's full address ready and all your employers from the past 18 months. It goes faster than you'd expect once you start.

Come back and tell us your weekly benefit amount when the DE 429Z arrives - would be good for others in similar situations to see a real number from a part-time warehouse claim

Filing the same day hours drop is better than waiting even a week. That start date really does matter.