Can you get unemployment and work part time in California EDD?

Wait so I report wages for the week I actually worked them, not when the paycheck hits my bank account? My pay period is biweekly so the timing has me confused.

Exactly right, it's when you earned the wages, not when the deposit lands. So if you worked Monday through Friday of one week, all of that goes on that week's certification even if your direct deposit doesn't come until the following Friday.

the formula above is right, just want to add that full time work in any single week means zero benefits for that week regardless of what you made, the partial pay formula only kicks in when it's part time hours

Tips too?? I get cash tips sometimes and honestly never thought about those. What happens if I forgot to include some in a past certification?

Yeah tips absolutely count. If you underreported a past week you should contact EDD through a message in your UI Online account or phone them to fix it before it becomes an overpayment issue. Don't just let it sit.

same, I had a week where I forgot to add some overtime and had to reach out through Ask EDD to get it corrected, took about two weeks but they adjusted it

CalJOBS registration is a whole other thing I haven't done yet and my application was about 10 days ago. Is that going to stop my payments?

Get on that right away. The DE 8405 in your mail will show the deadline, it's usually 21 days from when that notice is dated. Missing it can hold up your payments so don't wait.

I didn't get a DE 8405 at all, does everyone have to do CalJOBS? EDD told me some claimants are exempt but I don't know what makes you exempt or not

EDD decides who needs it and who doesn't, the DE 8405 only goes to claimants who are required to register. If you never got one you're probably exempt, but if you're not sure a quick message through UI Online can confirm it

To be clear EDD doesn't publish a specific number of contacts you need to make each week, so nobody can tell you exactly how many applications is enough. The requirement is that you're able, available, and looking. Keeping your own notes on where you applied is just a good habit.

Fair correction, I shouldn't have made it sound like there's a quota. My point was just that having a part time job doesn't get you out of the work search requirement, which I genuinely did not realize.

This is stressing me out because I've just been showing up to my reduced shifts and not applying anywhere else yet. I didn't realize I needed to be actively job hunting at the same time.

How long does it usually take from filing to actually getting paid? I filed about 10 days ago and haven't heard anything.

EDD says about three weeks to process a new claim and get the first payment out. And that's assuming no identity issues or eligibility questions come up. Your claim documents including the DE 429Z should arrive by mail around that time too.

the DE 429Z is not an approval letter, just want to make sure people know that, it shows what your claim could pay but EDD still decides each week whether you're eligible based on what you certify

I haven't gotten any vacation payout but that's good to know. What about if my employer gives me a holiday pay bump during the holidays even on reduced hours?

Holiday pay is also on that list of things to report. Same rule applies, report what you earned that week and EDD decides how it adjusts the payment.

severance is different though right? I heard severance doesn't count as wages

ok that makes sense, so report it and let EDD sort out what it does to that week. got it

Exactly, that's the right approach for pretty much anything you're unsure about. Report it and let EDD determine the impact rather than making that call yourself and potentially creating an overpayment issue.

I didn't even know there was a card coming in the mail. I'll watch for that. Can you change to direct deposit after you already get the card?

Yes you can switch to direct deposit through myEDD at any point, but there can be a slight lag while the change processes so the sooner the better.

Also check UI Online's Payments section regularly, that's where you'll see exactly what posted and when. Much easier than waiting for the card to show activity

Each week separately is what someone said above and now I'm realizing I need to really pay attention to this. My pay stubs show biweekly totals so I'd have to split it out by week.

Your timesheet or schedule should show which hours fell in which week. Some employers will give you a weekly breakdown if you ask, especially if you explain you need it for unemployment reporting.

reporting correctly is so important, underpaying yourself or overstating earnings both cause problems down the line

Good point. And if your employer eventually eliminates the part time position entirely you'd just continue certifying as fully unemployed, no special step needed beyond that change in what you report.

Makes sense. So the certification itself is where everything gets reported and adjusted, it's not like I'd have to call EDD every time something changes at work, just report it accurately each period?

Exactly right. The certification captures it all. The only time you'd want to actually contact EDD is if you need to correct a past week or if something unusual comes up with your claim status.

This is correct and EDD mails a Form 1099G in January for whatever you received in the prior year. If you went paperless it's also in UI Online under Payments.

I had no idea UI was taxable federally. Definitely setting up withholding when I certify, don't want to deal with that at tax time.

This is probably the clearest summary in the thread, thank you. I'm going to get my CalJOBS registration done today since I'm cutting it close on the deadline apparently.

also worth mentioning EDD has a benefits calculator on edd.ca.gov where you can estimate your weekly amount before the DE 429Z arrives, helps with budgeting while you wait

Good addition. The estimate from that calculator is close but the actual number comes from your base period wages so the DE 429Z is the official figure. Use the calculator for rough planning but don't budget down to the cent based on it.

That's actually a really practical idea. I've just been keeping mental notes which is obviously not great.

mental notes with biweekly pay cycles is a disaster waiting to happen, the spreadsheet approach is way smarter

Even a notes app on your phone works, just something with dates and dollar amounts so you're not trying to reconstruct it from memory months later

The waiver form is the DE 1446UI. It's for non-fraud overpayments where repaying would be an extraordinary hardship. EDD has to agree it wasn't your fault and wasn't fraud. It's not guaranteed but it exists.

Right, and you can keep certifying while an appeal is in progress so you don't lose out on future weeks while the dispute gets sorted out.

that is really important about certifying through an appeal, I've seen people stop certifying thinking there's no point and then find out later they can't get paid for those weeks retroactively

How did you know to look at the pending status? Is that in the Claim History section?

Yes, Claim History in UI Online is where pending weeks show up. Each week shows either pending or what was paid. If weeks are sitting in pending with no explanation it usually means EDD is waiting on something from your end or needs to make an eligibility determination.

Pending in Claim History is normal for the first few weeks but if weeks stay pending for more than three weeks after you've certified it's worth reaching out to EDD to find out what's holding it

I haven't gotten a DE 4800, so hopefully that means EDD doesn't have any eligibility questions about my situation. Hours cut by the same employer, nothing weird happened.

That's usually a straightforward situation so a phone interview is less likely, but if one does show up in the mail you'll see the time on your UI Online homepage too.

if a DE 4800 arrives, reschedule it at least one day before the listed time if you have any conflict, don't just skip it and hope for the best

Commission specifically is the kind of thing I could see getting confusing since the check comes so much later than the work. Glad you got that confirmed.

Yeah commissions, tips, any performance pay, all of it goes to the week the work happened. If you have anything unusual like that it's worth confirming directly rather than guessing.

I did not know about that phone line for checking payments, that's handy. Easier than logging in every time.

Option 2 on that line is EDD Tele-Cert too, so you can actually certify by phone through it if you ever have trouble with UI Online.

the Tele-Cert option saved me once when UI Online was having issues during a certification window, good backup to know about

Gross wages, got it. My pay stubs do show both so that's easy enough to check.

This is an important detail. Certifying with net instead of gross would underreport your earnings which could create an overpayment situation later. Always gross.

Exactly, and your pay stub shows gross right at the top usually, it's the number before taxes, insurance, 401k contributions and all of that come out

Still being employed isn't disqualifying on its own. What matters is whether your earnings in a given week are low enough that partial benefits are possible under the formula. Having your hours cut by your existing employer is exactly the situation partial UI is designed for.

ok that makes more sense, I kept reading stuff that made it sound like you had to be fully unemployed to qualify

The requirement is that you're available for full time work and your earnings have dropped enough that you'd receive at least some benefit amount after the formula. Partial employment by itself is not a barrier.