Does California EDD unemployment have to be paid back?

Oh thank goodness. That's such a relief. So as long as I'm honest on my certifications I shouldn't have any issues?

yes exactly what they said, its not a loan at all. my coworker thought the same thing when she first filed lol

This is correct. Just to add - California EDD does audit claims periodically, which can sometimes trigger an overpayment notice even years later if they find a discrepancy. So keeping records of everything you report is smart practice regardless.

Wait so overpayments can happen even if you didn't do anything wrong?? That's terrifying

yeah unfortunately yes. mine was technically an EDD error but they still wanted the money back. you can appeal though and sometimes they'll waive it if you can prove you weren't at fault and paying it back would cause financial hardship

This happened to me too. Got an overpayment notice 14 months after my claim closed. Still dealing with it honestly

Does the job search requirement matter for whether you have to pay back? Like if I missed documenting one week's contacts does that create an overpayment situation?

Missing documentation for job search activities is a separate issue from overpayments. If you're audited and can't prove your job search activities, you could be found ineligible for specific weeks, which would create an overpayment for those weeks. Best practice is to log every job contact with the employer name, date, position, and how you applied.

CalJOBS is what EDD recommends for tracking your job search activities - you can log everything there and it's timestamped which helps if you ever get audited

That sounds awful. Did you end up having to pay it back?

I filed an appeal within the 30 day window and had a phone hearing with an ALJ. The judge sided with me because I had documentation of my separation. But it took about 3 months from start to finish. Super stressful.

the fact that employers can dispute AFTER your claim is approved and paid out is genuinely insane to me. like you went through the whole process in good faith

RIGHT?? There should be a time limit on that. Anyway the Claimyr thing was genuinely helpful for the initial information gathering phase at least

Good catch bringing this up actually! Unemployment benefits ARE taxable at the federal level and California state level. You'll receive a 1099-G form from EDD showing your total benefits for the year. You can have taxes withheld from your weekly benefits (10% federal, optional state) when you file, or you can pay estimated taxes. It's not 'paying back' the benefits but you do owe income tax on them.

omg i had no idea. i've been getting like $480/week and didn't choose any withholding. am i gonna owe a lot in april??

Depends on your total income for the year including what you earned before losing your job. Might want to talk to a tax person or at minimum use a tax calculator online to estimate. You can still update your withholding preference through UI Online if you want them to start taking out taxes going forward.

yeah the tax thing caught me off guard first time i filed too. lesson learned lol

interesting context thanks. so when an employer fights an unemployment claim its partly because winning keeps their rates lower?

Exactly. California EDD assigns employers an experience rating based on how many of their former employees collect benefits. More successful claims against you = higher tax rate. This is why some employers dispute everything even legitimate claims.

This explains SO much about why my old company fought my claim so hard. I was clearly laid off but they tried to say I quit voluntarily. Nightmare.

Reporting your DoorDash earnings is exactly the right thing to do. When you earn wages in a week you're certifying, you report the gross amount earned (not what hits your bank account after the app takes its cut). EDD then calculates a partial benefit - generally they reduce your weekly benefit by the amount you earn over $25 or 25% of your WBA, whichever is higher. You will still receive some benefits as long as your earnings don't exceed your weekly benefit amount.

okay good that's basically what I've been doing. reporting the gross earnings from the app. so as long as I keep doing that I shouldn't get an overpayment?

The only gig work trap to watch for is that DoorDash and similar platforms issue 1099s at year end. EDD cross-references those against your certifications during audits. So make sure what you reported weekly roughly matches your annual 1099 total.

California EDD has up to 3 years to issue an overpayment notice for non-fraudulent cases, and up to 10 years in fraud cases. So technically a 2022 claim could still result in an overpayment notice. That said, if your claim was processed and closed without issue and you received no notices at the time, you're probably fine.

3 years. okay. so technically I'm still in the window. great. that's not anxiety inducing at all lol

wow i didn't know they could go back that far. another thing to be stressed about i guess

That's honestly so sad. I hope he eventually figured it out.

nope lol he found a part time job and just stopped. still to this day thinks he 'borrowed' from the government. some misunderstandings just stick

I wish I had known about the waiver option when I first got my notice. I immediately panicked and almost set up a payment plan before my friend told me to appeal first.

Yes - always exhaust appeal and waiver options before agreeing to repayment. Once you set up a repayment plan EDD may consider that an admission that the debt is valid.

Wait is that true?? That setting up payment means you're admitting it's valid? I didn't know that

I've been taking screenshots of my certification confirmations. Is that enough?

That's a good start. I'd also keep records of your job search activities - employer name, position title, date applied, method of contact. EDD can ask you to verify these during an audit and 'I applied but don't remember where' doesn't really hold up.

Using CalJOBS to track your job search is the easiest way to do this since it's integrated with EDD directly and everything is timestamped automatically

OP literally said they're reporting everything correctly so this isn't really relevant to their situation

fair point, wasn't directed at OP specifically. just a general thing I see a lot

yeah I'm definitely not hiding anything. too scared of exactly what you described honestly

How long did it actually take to get through with Claimyr?

I got a callback within a couple hours on a Tuesday. WAY faster than my previous attempts where I'd spend entire mornings redialing and getting either busy signals or getting to hold and then disconnected.

I need to try this. I've been trying to get EDD on the phone about my tax withholding for weeks

Correct. Severance is treated differently depending on whether it was a continuation of wages or a true lump sum. If your employer paid it as a continuation of employment (like two weeks pay in lieu of notice), EDD will typically delay your benefit start by that amount. If it was genuinely a severance package separate from your last paycheck it may not affect your claim start date.

I didn't get severance so this doesn't apply to me but good to know for the future

Yes, partial unemployment is a thing in California. If you're working part-time and earning less than your weekly benefit amount (WBA), you can still receive a partial benefit. The formula is: your WBA minus your earnings above $25 (or 25% of your WBA, whichever is higher). So if your WBA is $400 and you earn $150, you'd still receive partial benefits. You need to report those earnings on your biweekly certification though - that's key.

oh that's actually really helpful. so taking a part time job while looking for full time work doesn't disqualify you from collecting anything?

Right, as long as you remain able, available, and actively seeking full-time work. You still need to be doing your job search activities and accepting suitable work if offered.

and still certifying every two weeks even while working part time - a lot of people stop certifying when they start part time work and then lose out on the partial benefits they were entitled to

not wrong. the letters they send are written in such bureaucratic language that even people who work in adjacent fields have trouble understanding them

I partly agree - EDD communication could definitely be clearer. That said, their website does have decent FAQ resources if you know where to look. The problem is most people are scared and stressed and not in a great headspace to do research when they first apply.

fair. the UI Online portal is better than it used to be at least

It gets easier once you get past the initial approval process. The biweekly certification is pretty straightforward once you've done it once. Just be consistent with your job search activities and honest on your certifications and you'll be fine.

Thank you. I'm in adjudication right now which is already anxiety-inducing. Do you know how long that typically takes?

Adjudication timelines vary a lot right now - anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 weeks depending on the issue and EDD's workload. If you haven't heard anything after 3-4 weeks it's worth trying to contact them to check status. Claimyr (claimyr.com) is useful for that - getting through to an actual EDD agent to ask about your adjudication status is much easier with it than the standard phone line. Demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 if you want to see how it works.

Thank you! I'll look into that if it drags past a month

good luck with your claim! it really is fine as long as you're honest about everything

Glad this helped! Fingers crossed your job search goes well and you find something good soon

Keep those records!! Future you will thank present you if you ever get audited