Can you get unemployment if fired for looking for another job in California?

This is actually a really important distinction that California EDD adjudicators look at carefully. Being fired doesn't automatically disqualify you - the key question is whether your conduct rose to the level of 'misconduct' as defined under California Unemployment Insurance Code Section 1256. Job searching on its own is NOT considered misconduct under California law. Employees have every right to look for other employment. The fact that you were doing phone screens on lunch breaks, not on company time or using company resources, actually works strongly in your favor. For misconduct disqualification, EDD generally needs to show that you willfully violated a reasonable company policy AND that violation directly harmed the employer. Simply looking for work - even if your employer disapproves - typically doesn't clear that bar. Make sure when EDD contacts you for your side of the story (and they will), you explain exactly what you did and didn't do. Emphasize: no client solicitation, no proprietary information shared, all job searching done on personal time/personal devices. Document everything you can remember.

went thru almost exact same thing two years ago. fired for 'disloyalty' because my boss saw i had updated my indeed profile. filed with edd, went into adjudication for like 5 weeks which was stressful as hell, but ultimately got approved. the edd interviewer called me and asked pretty specific questions about what i did - whether i was on the clock, whether i used work email, whether i told coworkers i was leaving. i just answered honestly and they sided with me. looking for work isnt misconduct period

When my claim went into adjudication last year I genuinely could not get through to anyone at California EDD to find out what was happening or what documentation they needed from me. Spent days hitting redial and getting the 'we are experiencing high call volume' recording over and over. Somebody in another thread mentioned Claimyr and it completely changed things for me. You go to claimyr.com and they basically navigate the phone system and get you connected to an actual EDD rep. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 that shows how it works. I was skeptical but after two weeks of failed call attempts I was willing to try anything. Got through to an agent who was able to tell me exactly what my adjudication was about and what they needed from me. For your situation especially - being able to actually speak to someone who can see your claim notes could make a huge difference in how you prepare for your interview.

Let me clear something up because I see people get this wrong a lot - there are actually TWO separate legal questions EDD looks at when your separation is listed as termination for cause: 1. Was there actual misconduct under UI Code 1256? 2. If yes, was it severe enough to warrant disqualification? For your situation (job searching), you'd almost certainly fail the employer's argument at step 1. California courts have consistently held that seeking other employment is not misconduct. It doesn't harm the employer in any concrete way, it doesn't violate a fundamental obligation of employment, and it's something every single employee has a legal right to do. The only way this gets complicated is if there was a legitimate non-compete or non-solicitation agreement you violated by actively recruiting their clients or something like that. But passive job searching? No.

omg this thread is exactly what i needed to find. literally in almost the same situation right now. my employer found my resume on a job board and called it a 'violation of trust' and terminated me on the spot. i filed edd yesterday and i am SPIRALING waiting to see if it gets denied can they like... see that i filed? can my old employer find out i filed for unemployment? i dont even know how any of this works im so stressed

Something I want to add from my experience going through a similar adjudication: WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN before EDD calls you. Like seriously, sit down tonight and make a document that includes: - Exact dates of any job search activity - What devices you used (your personal phone? work computer?) - Whether any searching was done during work hours or personal time - Any conversations you had with recruiters and when - The company's exact stated reason for firing you - Whether you were given a written policy about this When EDD called me I was so flustered I kept saying 'I think' and 'maybe' and the interviewer specifically asked me to be more precise. Having notes in front of you makes you sound way more credible and prepared.

idk why companies even bother fighting these unemployment claims when the person clearly wasnt doing anything wrong. they already fired you, they win, why spend time contesting it too. pettiness honestly

My cousin went through almost this exact situation and her claim got denied initially because EDD sided with the employer at first. She appealed it though and won at the hearing. Just want to make sure you know appeals are an option if it comes to that - you have 30 days from any denial notice to file an appeal with the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB). The appeals process is actually more favorable to claimants than a lot of people think because you get to present your evidence in front of an administrative law judge and the burden is on the employer to prove misconduct, not on you to prove innocence.

been reading this whole thread and just want to say OP you have a really strong case. the fact pattern you described - personal time, personal device, no client poaching, no actual harm to employer - is about as clean as it gets for a wrongful termination UI claim the only thing i'd caution is don't say anything to edd that sounds like you were planning to leave 'soon' or had already accepted something else. just stick to the facts: you were exploring options, you remained fully committed to your current role, and you were terminated before you made any decisions

Has anyone successfully gotten through to EDD by phone lately?? I've been trying for literally two weeks for a completely different issue and cannot get a human being on the line no matter what time I call. 8am, 11am, 3pm, doesn't matter, always the same 'high call volume' message. Sorry slightly off topic but this thread seemed active and I'm desperate lol

Question for the thread - what if OP's employer handbook actually DID have a written policy against job searching? Like say it literally said employees cannot seek outside employment during their tenure. Would that change anything? I feel like that would at least make the employer's argument stronger even if it's still sketchy

just want to share something that helped me during my adjudication period because i was going absolutely crazy waiting - you can check your UI Online account every day and the claim status will actually update before you get any letters. when mine moved from 'pending' to 'adjudication in progress' i saw it on the portal first also the letters from edd are often really vague so dont panic if you get something that sounds scary, sometimes you need to actually call to understand what it means

Real talk - companies use 'loyalty policy violations' and 'conflict of interest' as pretextual reasons to fire people all the time when the real reason is something else (like they found out you were looking and they were about to lay you off anyway and wanted to get ahead of it, or they just didn't like you). EDD sees this constantly. The good news is EDD adjudicators are pretty good at identifying pretextual reasons. They'll ask your employer to explain specifically how job searching harmed the company or violated your fundamental job duties. Most employers can't actually articulate that because it didn't.

I work in HR (not at OP's former company obviously lol) and can confirm that when we receive notice of a former employee's UI claim, we have to decide whether to formally contest it. For a situation like OP describes - job searching, no client solicitation, no proprietary info shared - honestly most HR departments would probably just let the claim go through rather than contest it, because we know EDD's definition of misconduct and we know we'd likely lose. The companies that contest everything regardless of merit are usually the larger ones with dedicated third-party unemployment management services. They contest on volume hoping claimants don't respond or appeal.

update from someone who had a very similar situation last year: I was fired for 'planning to resign' which is even more absurd than what OP described - my manager ASSUMED I was job hunting based on nothing and preemptively fired me. Filed with EDD, went into adjudication, got approved after 6 weeks. the edd interviewer told me directly that 'intention to leave' is not misconduct. actually quitting would have been a different story (voluntary quit has its own rules) but them firing me for what I might do someday? absolutely not a basis for disqualification

one thing nobody has mentioned - make sure you keep filing your weekly certifications while your claim is in adjudication!! i didn't realize i was supposed to keep certifying and missed like 3 weeks. when my claim was finally approved they could only backpay to certifications that were actually filed. lost three weeks of benefits because i thought i wasn't supposed to certify until the adjudication was resolved this is a really common mistake pls don't do what i did

OK so I'm going to be the slightly pessimistic voice here because I think people are being overly rosy. I had a termination for cause claim that I was SURE I would win - very similar situation, employer accused me of 'disloyal conduct' - and EDD initially denied me. I did appeal and eventually won, but it took 4 months total before I got any money. I'm not saying OP's claim will be denied, just saying prepare emotionally and financially for it potentially taking longer than you hope. And definitely look into other resources in the meantime just in case.

slightly different angle here - has anyone looked into whether being fired for job searching could support a wrongful termination claim in addition to the UI stuff? I know this is an EDD forum but if the employer violated any implied covenant or something it might be worth a free consult with an employment attorney. some employment attorneys in California work on contingency for wrongful termination so it wouldn't necessarily cost anything upfront

this thread is actually so helpful i'm bookmarking it. my situation is a little different - i resigned from my job before they could fire me when i found out they were about to let me go. wondering if that changes anything with edd since technically i resigned... does that count as a forced resignation?