Can you refile for unemployment after going back to work in California EDD?

How do I know for sure if my benefit year is still open? The DE 429Z I got after I first applied had dates on it — does that tell me the end date?

The DE 429Z is exactly what to look at. The end date is on that notice. If you're inside that window, reopen, don't refile.

Yep the DE 429Z has everything — the weekly amount, the max total, and the year end date. Dig that out before you do anything else.

That's really helpful, thank you. Did it ask about your time working the temp job? Like did you have to list wages from the staffing agency or anything?

It asked why I stopped certifying and why the most recent job ended. I don't remember it recalculating wages — the weekly amount stayed the same from the original claim. The balance just picked up from where it left off.

Same here. The balance from before carries over when you reopen inside the benefit year. You're not starting over, just picking the claim back up.

The ID.me thing is a good thing to flag — I haven't logged into UI Online in a few months so I should probably check that my verification is still good before I try to reopen.

ID.me verification expiring is surprisingly common and EDD doesn't always flag it clearly. If the reopen isn't showing up for you that's the first thing worth checking.

Had a similar thing where the reopen screen just disappeared. Ended up being an identity hold. Worth checking your Claim History in UI Online for anything showing as Pending before you try to reopen.

Yeah that's a completely different thing. If the benefit year is over, you file a brand new claim. You can't extend or reopen one that's already expired. New application, new base period, the whole thing.

Ok that makes sense. So the question of whether to reopen or refile totally depends on that benefit year end date.

Exactly. That date is the fork in the road. Same week job ends, one path if you're inside the year, different path if you're outside it.

That part makes sense to me. I didn't collect that long before the temp job started so I should have a decent chunk left. I'm more worried about the weekly amount being lower than what I'd need, but I guess that's just how it works.

The weekly amount is locked in from the original base period wages. There's no way to recalculate mid-year. If you wanted a higher amount based on the temp job wages, you'd have to wait until you can file a completely new claim after the benefit year ends.

Is that always how it works or can EDD use an alternate base period to recalculate? Asking because I had a gap in wages before my original claim.

The alternate base period only comes into play when the standard base period doesn't have enough wages to make a valid claim at all. It doesn't get used to raise the amount on a claim that's already valid and open. Completely different scenario.

If you've been certifying through the part-time work and reporting the wages, you don't need to reopen — the claim never closed. Just keep certifying and report that you had zero earnings for the week the part-time job ended. The weekly amount gets calculated based on what you earn, so a zero-earnings week just means full benefit amount.

Oh I didn't realize the claim stays open even when you're earning. I thought I'd have to do something to restart it.

Part-time work while certifying is totally normal. The earnings formula applies each week — EDD takes what you made, subtracts the first $25 or 25 percent of gross (whichever is bigger), and the rest comes off your weekly amount. Work goes away, formula goes away, full amount comes back.

The waiting week is a one-time thing per claim, not per stint of collecting. You served it at the start of the original claim, so you don't go through it again when you reopen inside the same benefit year.

That's a relief honestly, every week of waiting right now would really hurt financially.

Good to know. I have the paperwork from the staffing agency showing the contract end date. Should I upload that anywhere or just answer the questions online?

Answer the questions in UI Online first. EDD will ask for documentation if they need it. Don't go uploading things unprompted — sometimes it creates more questions than it answers.

Agreed. The staffing agency situation is a standard laid off scenario. EDD handles these constantly. Answer honestly, say the contract ended, and it typically moves fast.

I did not know this would happen. Thank you for flagging it. I'll log in and update my CalJOBS profile this week before I try to reopen anything.

Same thing happened to me. Had to scramble to update and then ask EDD to clear the hold. It was annoying but resolved pretty quickly once the resume was refreshed.

Does EDD always send that CalJOBS notice when you reopen? Or only sometimes?

Not sure if it's every time. I got one when I'd been off the claim for about two and a half months. Maybe the resume being stale triggered it. Either way, refreshing it costs nothing and prevents the headache.

EDD would see that there's an active benefit year and would likely redirect you or the new claim would sit pending. The honest answer is to call EDD and explain the situation if that happens — they can sort out which claim should be active.

Ugh that sounds like a mess. I guess the lesson is check your DE 429Z before doing anything.

Good tip. I'll try it on my phone first. EDD's website sometimes has weird browser compatibility issues.

The UI Online mobile experience is weirdly sometimes better than desktop for certain functions. I had a similar submission error on my laptop that just worked fine on my phone.

EDD notifies your most recent employer — in this case the staffing agency — when you reopen or file a claim. The agency has 10 days from the date on that notice to respond. If they respond and their account differs from yours, EDD sorts it out. If they don't respond, the decision goes based on what you said. For a simple contract expiration they usually don't contest it.

Makes sense. I was worried they might say I declined another assignment or something, which isn't true in my case.

If you declined a new assignment from the agency, that could be a different question. But a contract just ending with nothing offered is a clean separation. EDD sees these constantly from staffing placements.

The field doesn't matter for reopening. The claim and the benefit year are based on wages, not industry. You reopen, you go back to the original weekly amount, and you're available for work in whatever field you're able and available for.

Ok cool. I was worried EDD might question why I was doing something so different. Good to know it doesn't affect the claim mechanics.

The 8am trick doesn't seem to work reliably anymore. Good to know there's another way in if the UI Online reopen doesn't work for me.

The disconnection after a long wait is the absolute worst. All that time wasted.

Does EDD send you something saying work search requirements are back on, or do you just have to know?

Usually it's just part of the certification questions — you answer whether you looked for work and whether you were available. EDD doesn't send a separate reminder. The requirement is just there every time you certify.

This is the part that trips people up. You answer yes to those questions on the certification and you need to actually be doing it. Certifying honestly matters.

How long did it take for the first payment to come after reopening? I'm trying to figure out if I'll have a gap or not.

My first payment after reopening posted within 24 hours of certifying online. The reopen itself processed same day. Much faster than when I first filed.

Same experience here — the reopen is way faster than a new application. New claims take a few weeks typically. Reopens are much quicker once approved.

Appreciate the correction. That one trips a lot of people up and it's good to have the right answer clearly stated.

I actually believed the wrong version of this for a long time. Really matters when you're counting on every dollar.

This thread ended up being way more helpful than I expected. I'm going to log into UI Online tonight, check the benefit year end date on my DE 429Z, update my CalJOBS resume, and then reopen. At least I know what I'm looking for now.

That's exactly the right order of operations. Good luck with it.

The DE 429Z end date really is the starting point for everything. Once you know where you stand on that, every other step falls into place.

That's good to know. I had the same question about whether new wages would affect the amount. Sounds like the answer is no, at least for a reopen inside the same benefit year.

Interesting — so earning during the benefit year doesn't change the weekly rate even if you made significantly more or less during that stretch.

Mostly yes. The reopen itself asks some extra questions about why you stopped and why the job ended. But once you're through that, the ongoing certification every two weeks is exactly the same as before.

Ok that's what I figured but wanted to confirm. The UI Online interface can be confusing about what's a one-time reopen screen versus the ongoing certification.

The reopen flow and the certification flow are separate pages in UI Online. After you complete the reopen, you'll see the certify option appear. It's sequential not combined.

Here's how the base period timing works: EDD looks at the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. So if a quarter just finished, some of your most recent wages might not be in the standard base period. If your standard base period doesn't have enough wages to qualify, EDD automatically looks at the alternate base period — the most recent four completed quarters. EDD runs through this automatically, you don't have to ask for it.

So if I file now in November, the most recent completed quarter would be July through September? And my wages from October and November wouldn't count yet because that quarter isn't done?

Exactly right. October through December is the current quarter and it's not completed yet, so it won't be in either base period until after December 31. File soon and use EDD's Unemployment Benefit Calculator on their site to estimate what you'd get based on your earlier quarters.