EDD application timing with WARN Act pay - should I apply now or wait until payments end?

File your claim IMMEDIATELY! Don't wait until June! HR departments always say this because it benefits the company, not you. Your claim effective date determines your benefit year and base period calculation. If you wait until June, you might lose out on some wages in your calculation period. You can (and should) apply for benefits as soon as you receive notice of termination, even if you're receiving WARN Act pay. Just be sure to report those WARN payments when you certify each week - you won't get EDD payments during that time, but your claim will be established and ready to go once the WARN pay ends.

i got warn act pay last year when my manufacturing plant closed... waited til it ended to apply for edd like HR said and HUGE mistake!! took like 8 weeks to get my first payment after that. wish someone told me earlier

Your HR department is giving you incorrect information, probably because they don't want their UI account charged earlier than necessary. California specifically addresses this on their website: you can file a UI claim while receiving WARN Act payments. You'll just need to report these payments when you certify, which will likely disqualify you from receiving benefits during that period due to excessive earnings. But your claim will be established and processed, so when your WARN pay ends, you can immediately start receiving UI benefits without delay. When you file, make sure to accurately report your last day of work (which would be the day you stopped working, not when WARN payments end). Also clearly indicate you're receiving WARN Act payments when asked about severance or continued payments.

WARN payments won't affect your weekly benefit amount (WBA) at all. Your WBA is calculated based on your highest quarter of earnings during the base period (typically the 12-month period ending just before the last completed calendar quarter before you file). So file now to lock in that calculation period. Just remember, when you certify every two weeks during your WARN period, you'll need to report those payments. You'll answer "yes" to the question about receiving other income, and then indicate it's separation pay or WARN Act pay. You'll also need to report that you're not looking for work because you're still technically employed - but once your WARN period ends, you'll start your work search and report that accordingly.

If your trying to reach EDD to ask about WARN act stuff, good luck! I spent 3 weeks trying to get through to them because I had a similar situation with my aerospace company last year. Started calling at exactly 8:00am every day and just got the "we're receiving too many calls" message. Finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me through to an EDD rep in less than an hour. They have this demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. Worth it because the EDD rep actually knew about WARN Act rules and straightened everything out for me.

Just to add what everyone else is saying - don't trust HR for unemployment advice! Their interests are not aligned with yours! I worked in HR for 6 years and we ALWAYS told people to wait to file claims because it helped our UI tax rates... I'm not proud of it now but that's how companies operate.

i went thru this exact situation last yr. WARN act pay for 60 days then unemployment. made the mistake of waiting to file and had 6 weeks with NO INCOME while EDD processed the claim. file now so it's already set up when your warn payments end!!!

One more tip - keep detailed records of your WARN Act notification and all communications with your employer. You'll want documentation showing when you were notified, the expected end date of your employment, and your payment schedule. EDD sometimes requests this information, especially if there's any confusion about your last day of work versus when your payments end.

Guys I'm confused about something related to this... If you're getting WARN Act pay does that mean you're still technically employed? Like do you still have health insurance during those 60 days? My friend just got laid off from her job and they're giving her WARN pay but she's panicking about losing her health insurance right away.

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice! I'm definitely going to file my EDD claim right away instead of waiting until June. I'll make sure to accurately report my WARN Act payments during certification and keep all documentation from my employer. Really appreciate all the insights - this could have been a costly mistake if I'd followed HR's advice!

This thread is exactly what I needed to see! I'm in a similar situation with my company shutting down and giving us WARN Act pay. Our HR team told us the same thing - wait until the payments end before filing. But after reading all these responses, I'm definitely filing my claim this week. It's crazy how HR departments consistently give advice that benefits the company's UI tax rates rather than helping employees. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this could have saved me weeks of waiting without income!

This is such valuable information! I'm a former EDD claims processor and can confirm everything everyone is saying here. We regularly saw people who waited to file after WARN Act payments ended, and they always faced significant delays getting their first benefit payment. The processing time doesn't magically speed up just because your WARN pay stops - you're still going through the same review process that takes weeks. One thing I'd add is to make sure you answer the application questions very carefully. When it asks about your last day of work, that's typically the actual last day you performed work duties, not when your WARN payments end. And when certifying during the WARN period, you'll need to report those payments as "other income" but you can usually select "separation pay" or similar from the dropdown menu. The system is designed to handle this situation - it's more common than people think, especially in California with all the tech layoffs in recent years. Don't let HR pressure you into waiting. They're not unemployment experts, and their priorities are definitely not aligned with getting you benefits as quickly as possible!

I'm going through this exact situation right now too! My company just announced they're closing our office and we'll get WARN Act pay through May. HR gave us the same "don't file until payments end" speech, but after reading this thread I realize they're just trying to protect their own interests. One question for those who have been through this - when you file the initial claim, do you need to provide any special documentation about the WARN Act notice, or does EDD just need the standard employment information? I have the official WARN notification letter from my employer but wasn't sure if I should upload it somewhere or just mention it in the application. Also wondering if anyone knows whether the 60-day WARN period affects the work search requirements at all, or if those kick in immediately when you file? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread is going to save me a lot of headaches!