Can you still get unemployment and work at the same time in California EDD?

Wait so the week I worked them not when the check hits my account? My restaurant pays every two weeks so my paycheck timing and the week I earned it are always different. How do I figure out which week to put what?

Exactly - if you worked Monday through Sunday and earned $180 that week, you report that $180 for that specific week even if your paycheck for it comes the following Friday. Break your paycheck down by which days fell in which week and report accordingly.

UI Online actually has a Report Wages section you can use before you certify to work out the numbers. Really helps when your pay periods don't line up neatly with the certification weeks.

That's honestly such a relief to hear. My manager made it sound like collecting unemployment while still showing up to work was some kind of fraud. I was scared to even ask EDD about it.

Your manager is wrong about that. Part-time workers with reduced hours file all the time. The fraud would be NOT reporting the hours you work, not the fact that you're working.

Exactly what the person above said. Report everything accurately and you're completely fine.

Tips and hourly together - good to know, I never would have thought to combine them before figuring the percentage. What was the hold time like before you got through?

The service handles the hold, so I picked up when an agent was on the line. Asked about my specific pay mix and got the tip answer plus confirmation my pending weeks were just waiting on wage verification, not anything I'd done wrong.

The tips thing is actually really important for anyone in food service reading this. So many people in restaurants forget tips are still wages and then get surprised if EDD catches a discrepancy.

So even one week of full-time hours just wipes out that week completely? The benefit doesn't come back the next week if I go back to part-time?

Right, it's week by week. That full-time week is gone but the next week you're back to part-time you certify normally and the partial benefit formula applies again. Your claim doesn't end, just that one week.

Happened to me too during the holidays when my café went to all hands on deck. Reported it honestly and just got zero for those two weeks. Annoying but it's the right thing to do.

Unfortunately a claim only goes back to the Sunday of the week you applied. EDD can't pay weeks before your application date, so there's no way to retroactively collect for those six months. The best thing now is to file immediately if you're still having reduced hours.

ugh that is so frustrating. filing today then. better late than never i guess

Apply through myEDD at https://myedd.edd.ca.gov/ as soon as possible so your start date is as early as it can be. Every day you wait is another day you can't get back.

Oh wow I didn't even think about holiday pay. My restaurant gives us holiday pay for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So if I work Thanksgiving week and also get holiday pay, I add those together?

Yes add them together for the week they cover. Report all of it and let EDD do the math on what your payment works out to.

Vacation pay is on that list too if you ever take a week off with paid vacation during your claim. Report it for the week the vacation covers.

Really? Even though I still have the restaurant job, just reduced hours? So I should be applying to other places or at least keeping track of what I'm looking for?

Being able to work, available for work, and looking for work - those are the three boxes EDD needs you to check every week you certify. Having a part-time job doesn't automatically exempt you from the search requirement.

Keeping a personal log of where you've applied is just a good habit during a claim regardless. If EDD ever audits your work search you'll have something to point to.

The on-call thing sounds really stressful to track. Did EDD ever question your certifications when the hours varied so much week to week?

Never got a question about the variation. As long as the wages match what the employer reports, the system accepts it. EDD gets wage info from employers too so consistency between what you report and what they report is what matters.

this is reassuring. i was scared that big swings in hours would look suspicious to EDD but it sounds like they expect it

I did get something in the mail about CalJOBS actually. I kind of set it aside. So I need to actually do that or my payments stop?

Don't wait on it. 21 days goes fast and that clock started when EDD mailed it, not when you got it. Log in to caljobs.ca.gov and get your resume posted.

The registration isn't hard, it's mostly entering your work history and uploading or building a resume. Takes maybe 20-30 minutes if you have your info handy.

Wait so I might still get a phone interview even though I wasn't fired or anything, just had my hours cut?

For a straight-up hour reduction with the same employer it's usually processed without an interview, but it depends on the specifics. If EDD has questions, the notice for the interview (DE 4800) will come in the mail and also show on your UI Online homepage with the date and time. Keep your phone on you at that time if it comes.

Had an interview scheduled for my hours-cut claim last year. Interviewer just asked me to confirm I was still employed, what my new schedule looked like, and whether the reduction was my employer's decision. Super straightforward, done in under 10 minutes.

EDD goes by wages as reported to them by employers AND what you self-report when certifying. For the certification question, you report all wages earned that week. How someone handles tips on their personal taxes is a separate matter - for EDD purposes, all income earned while certifying gets reported.

got it. so report everything to be safe. thanks

Yeah the safest path is always to report everything and let EDD calculate it. The formula still works in your favor for most part-time situations.

I actually did read about this on EDD's site but I had to read it like three times before it clicked. So the waiting week doesn't reduce the total weeks I can get paid overall?

The total amount your claim can pay stays the same - the waiting week just delays when you start seeing money. Your 26 weeks of potential benefits aren't shrunk by it.

Exactly right. The maximum benefit amount on your DE 429Z is 26 times your weekly amount or half your base period wages, whichever is less - the waiting week doesn't cut into that number.

My manager basically implied the same thing, like filing while still employed was somehow against the rules. Really glad I filed anyway and found this thread.

Employers don't decide who qualifies. EDD decides. HR people sometimes don't know the full rules or might have incentives to discourage filing.

An employer can respond to your claim with information but they can't deny it. EDD makes the actual call.

I'm only 24 so pensions aren't really my thing yet but good to know for the future lol

Ha fair enough. More relevant for people who took early retirement or partial pension draws while still picking up part-time work.

SAME. why is this not plastered everywhere on the EDD website. i genuinely thought unemployment = fully unemployed

The site does explain it but you have to know to look for the partial wage information. If you don't know the right terms to search for, you'd never find it.

To be fair, EDD's site has gotten better over the years but it's still pretty hard to navigate if you've never dealt with a claim before.

Checked Claim History and it shows the first two weeks as Pending. Is that normal for a brand new claim or does it mean something is wrong?

Totally normal at the start. EDD typically takes about three weeks to process a new application and get the first payment out. If it stays pending well past that point then it might be worth following up with EDD.

Also if identity verification through ID.me hasn't been completed yet, that can hold things up. When you applied, did you go through the ID.me process to verify your identity?

I did do the ID.me step during the application, it asked me right in the UI Online flow. So hopefully that's already handled.

Then you should be in good shape on that front. The pending status for new claims is pretty much always just the initial processing period.

ID.me verification plus the CalJOBS registration are the two things that most often hold up new claims when people miss them. Sounds like you got the first one, just take care of that CalJOBS step ASAP.

Oh interesting, I don't have a side gig but good to know that works the same way. Did the agent seem helpful on that kind of specific question?

Yeah, she pulled up my claim and confirmed the pending status was just initial processing, not a flag on the self-employment. That was the reassurance I actually needed.

Self-employment income during a claim is a whole thing I've been unsure about too. Good to know it goes in the same certification question.

Should I tell my manager I filed then? Or just let EDD notify them? I don't want it to be awkward.

You're not required to tell them. EDD handles the notification. Whether you mention it personally is up to you and your read on how your manager would react.

An employer being notified doesn't mean they can do anything about your claim. They respond to EDD with facts about your employment, they don't get to veto your eligibility.

How complicated was it to fix once you actually got through? I'm paranoid about making a mistake on mine.

Not complicated once I had the right information. The UI Online message route worked for getting it sorted. Just make sure if you think you reported something wrong you act on it quickly rather than hoping EDD won't notice.

The Report Wages screen in UI Online is specifically for figuring out the numbers BEFORE you certify, not for fixing past certifications. For anything already submitted, the message option or the phone is the way to go.

EDD asks about each week individually within the two-week certification. You'll see questions for week one and week two separately - wages, hours, all of that gets answered for each week on its own. Don't combine them.

ok that makes way more sense. so i fill out each week's info and EDD adds it up on their end. got it

The certification walks you through it week by week, so even if the form looks confusing at first the questions themselves make it clear which week is which.

I wish I had used that calculator before I filed - would have given me a better sense of what to expect. My highest quarter was actually about 8 months ago when I had extra banquet shifts, so the $310 makes more sense now.

The base period looks at the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed, so a strong quarter from 8 months ago could absolutely be what's driving your weekly amount.

wait so if my highest wages were like a year ago that still counts?? this changes everything about what my benefit could be. filing TODAY