EDD award letter shows $0 wages - identity verification issue or no benefits?

This is actually pretty common - don't panic yet! When your wages show as $0, it usually means one of three things: 1. Identity verification is still pending (which sounds like your case) 2. Your employer reported your wages under a different SSN by mistake 3. You worked as an independent contractor and those wages aren't in the regular W2 system Since you mentioned you already did the ID.me verification, give it about 10 business days before they update your claim. Once your identity is verified, they'll update your wage information and recalculate your benefit amount. You should get a new award letter with the corrected amounts.

same thing happened to me in January!!! my award letter said $0 but after they verified my identity they fixed it. took about 2 weeks tho

You need to call EDD immediately!! I had this exact problem and it turned out my employer had reported my wages under a slightly different name (they had my maiden name). I spent WEEKS waiting for it to resolve itself before I finally called and got it fixed in one day. Don't just sit around waiting because the system rarely fixes itself. You need to reach a tier 2 specialist who can actually access your wage information. The problem is getting through to anyone at EDD is nearly impossible these days. I called 47 times in one day before getting through!

I had this exact issue in March. After trying for days to get through to EDD with no luck, I used a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an EDD agent within 30 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km that shows how it works. When I finally got through, the agent told me that even though my ID.me was complete, there was another step in their internal verification process that was holding up my claim. They fixed it on the call and my updated award letter with correct wages came about a week later. Definitely worth talking to someone directly rather than waiting and hoping it gets fixed automatically. Just make sure when you do get through that you speak with a tier 2 specialist who can access your wage information.

THIS IS WHY THE EDD SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY BROKEN!!! Why should people have to call 50+ times just to get their rightful benefits?? My neighbor went through this same thing and ended up having to contact his STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER to get it resolved after waiting 2 MONTHS with $0 benefits. The whole system is designed to make people give up. Don't let them win!!

One important thing - make sure you continue certifying for weeks even while your claim shows $0! If they do fix your wage issue (which they probably will), they'll only pay you for weeks you've properly certified for. I made the mistake of not certifying because I thought it was pointless with a $0 award, and lost out on 3 weeks of backpay when my issue was finally resolved.

btw when u call them use the trick where u press 1 then wait then 2 then wait and so on...it works better then just calling the main number

Just to clarify some information here: 1. Yes, definitely keep certifying while this gets sorted out 2. When they fix your wage history, they'll issue retroactive payments for any weeks you certified correctly 3. The $0 award letter is actually called a "Notice of Wages: $0" and is different from the final Award Letter 4. The most common cause is identity verification, but employer misreporting is also possible One thing to check: log into your UI Online account and look for any messages or tasks in your inbox. Sometimes there's additional information or verification requests there that weren't in the mailed letter.

my cousin had this happen 2 him too. his work had his SSN wrong so edd couldnt find his records. took FOREVER 2 fix but he got all the money eventually

UPDATE: I finally got through to EDD this morning! Turns out my former employer reported my wages under a slightly wrong SSN (last digit was off). The rep fixed it right on the call and said I should get an updated award letter in 5-7 days. She also said my weekly benefit amount will be around $425 based on my corrected wages. For anyone who's curious, I used the Claimyr service that someone mentioned here and got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. Totally worth it considering I'd already wasted hours trying to call directly. Thanks everyone for the help and advice! Will update again when I get my corrected award letter.

That's such a relief to hear it got resolved! Your story is really helpful for others dealing with the same issue. It's crazy how a simple data entry error (wrong SSN digit) can cause so much stress and delay. $425/week sounds like a decent benefit amount too. For anyone else reading this thread - Emma's experience shows that sometimes you really do need to speak to someone directly rather than waiting for the system to fix itself. The employer wage reporting errors seem more common than people realize. Thanks for updating us with the resolution! Hopefully your corrected award letter comes through quickly.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm actually dealing with a similar situation right now - my award letter also shows $0 wages even though I worked full-time at a restaurant for over a year. I've been panicking for the past week thinking I wouldn't qualify for any benefits. Reading through everyone's experiences here gives me hope that it's probably just a verification or reporting issue that can be fixed. I completed my ID.me verification about 5 days ago, so maybe I just need to wait a bit longer like some of you suggested. Emma, congrats on getting yours resolved! I'm definitely going to try calling EDD tomorrow, and if that doesn't work I might look into that Claimyr service you mentioned. The fact that it was just a simple SSN error is both frustrating and reassuring at the same time. I'll make sure to keep certifying while I wait for this to get sorted out. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know I'm not alone in dealing with this mess!

This thread is so reassuring! I'm dealing with a similar situation - got my award letter showing $0 wages last week even though I worked consistently at a retail store for 14 months before being laid off. I was starting to think I'd done something wrong with my application. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I should call EDD rather than just waiting around. I did my ID.me verification about 8 days ago but haven't heard anything back yet. Emma's success story with the Claimyr service is really encouraging - I might try that if I can't get through the regular way. The tip about continuing to certify even with a $0 award is gold - I almost skipped my first certification thinking it was pointless! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It's crazy how common this issue seems to be, but at least there's hope for resolution.

Wow, this whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm actually in a very similar boat - just got my award letter yesterday showing $0 wages despite working at a medical office for 16 months before getting laid off due to budget cuts. I was absolutely devastated when I opened that letter, thinking I wouldn't qualify for any benefits. Reading Emma's success story and everyone else's experiences gives me so much hope! It sounds like this is way more common than I realized. I completed my ID.me verification about a week ago but haven't heard anything back yet. Based on what everyone's shared here, I think I'm going to try calling EDD tomorrow rather than waiting around for it to potentially fix itself. The advice about continuing to certify even with a $0 award is crucial - I would have definitely skipped that thinking it was pointless. And the tip about employer reporting errors (like the wrong SSN digit) makes total sense - clerical mistakes happen all the time. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and advice here. It's such a relief to know there's light at the end of the tunnel and that this can actually get resolved! I'll definitely update this thread once I get mine sorted out.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact nightmare last year! My award letter showed $0 wages even though I had worked at a tech startup for over a year before they had layoffs. Like many of you, I was absolutely panicking thinking I wouldn't get any benefits. Turns out my employer had filed my wages under a slightly different version of my name (they used "Michael" instead of "Mike" which is what's on my SSN). It took about 3 weeks to get resolved, but I did eventually get all my backpay once they fixed the wage records. The key things I learned from my experience: 1. Don't stop certifying - this was crucial for getting backpay 2. The ID.me verification can take up to 2 weeks, so don't panic if it's only been a few days 3. If it's been longer than 2 weeks since verification, definitely call - waiting longer rarely helps 4. Ask specifically for a "tier 2 specialist" who can access wage records Emma's success story is so encouraging! It really shows that these issues CAN be resolved quickly once you get the right person on the phone. For everyone else still dealing with this - hang in there, you're not alone and there is hope!

This thread has been such a goldmine of information! I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now - got my award letter 3 days ago showing $0 wages despite working full-time at a nonprofit for 15 months before they had to lay me off due to funding cuts. I was literally in tears when I opened that letter thinking I'd somehow messed up my application or wouldn't qualify for benefits. But reading through everyone's experiences here, especially Emma's success story, has given me so much hope! It sounds like this is way more common than any of us realized. I completed my ID.me verification about 6 days ago, so based on what people are saying here, I'm right in that window where it could still resolve itself. But honestly, after seeing how quickly Emma and others got their issues fixed by calling directly, I think I'm going to be proactive and try calling EDD tomorrow morning. The advice about continuing to certify even with a $0 award is so crucial - I definitely would have skipped that thinking it was pointless. And all the tips about asking for a tier 2 specialist and the potential employer reporting errors (wrong SSN, name variations, etc.) are incredibly helpful. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and kept updating this thread. It's turned what felt like a hopeless situation into something that actually has clear solutions. I'll definitely post an update once I get mine resolved!

This entire thread has been absolutely incredible to read! I'm currently going through this exact same nightmare - got my award letter 4 days ago showing $0 wages even though I worked at a manufacturing company for 13 months before getting laid off. I was completely devastated and thought I'd somehow screwed up my entire application. But wow, reading Emma's success story and everyone else's experiences has completely changed my perspective! It's both shocking and reassuring to see how common this issue actually is. I had no idea that simple employer reporting errors (wrong SSN digits, name variations, etc.) could cause such major problems. I did my ID.me verification about 9 days ago, so based on everyone's timelines here, I'm right in that zone where I should probably start being more proactive. Emma's quick resolution using that Claimyr service is really encouraging, and all the advice about asking specifically for a tier 2 specialist seems crucial. The tip about continuing to certify even with a $0 award is something I never would have thought of - thank you so much to whoever mentioned that! I was definitely planning to skip certification thinking it was pointless. This community has turned what felt like the end of the world into something that actually has hope and clear action steps. I'm going to try calling EDD tomorrow morning, and if that doesn't work, I'll look into that Claimyr service. Will definitely update this thread with my results to help others who might be going through the same thing!

Reading through this entire thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm dealing with the exact same situation - just received my award letter yesterday showing $0 wages even though I worked at a dental office for over a year before they had to reduce staff. I was absolutely panicking thinking I'd never get benefits. Emma's success story is so encouraging, and it's amazing how this thread has become such a supportive community for people going through this nightmare. The fact that it was just a simple SSN error that got fixed in one phone call gives me so much hope! I completed my ID.me verification 5 days ago, so based on everyone's experiences here, I'm right in that timeframe where it could still resolve automatically. But after seeing how much faster calling directly seems to work, I think I'll try the phone route in a few days if I don't hear anything. The advice about continuing to certify even with a $0 award is so important - I definitely would have skipped that thinking it was useless. And all the tips about asking for a tier 2 specialist and being prepared for potential employer reporting errors are incredibly valuable. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and kept updating this thread. You've all turned what felt like a hopeless situation into something manageable with clear action steps. Will definitely post an update once I get mine resolved!

This thread has been absolutely incredible to follow! I'm currently in the exact same boat - got my award letter 2 days ago showing $0 wages despite working consistently at a logistics company for 14 months before our department got eliminated. I was completely devastated when I saw those zeros, thinking I'd somehow messed up my entire claim. Reading Emma's success story and everyone else's experiences has been such a huge relief! It's amazing how what feels like such an isolated, terrifying problem is actually happening to so many people - and more importantly, that it's totally fixable. The fact that Emma's issue was resolved in one phone call after what was just a simple SSN digit error gives me so much hope. I completed my ID.me verification 8 days ago, so based on all the timelines people have shared here, I'm right in that sweet spot where I should probably start being more proactive about calling. After seeing how much faster direct contact with EDD seems to work compared to just waiting, I think I'm going to try calling tomorrow morning. All the advice in this thread has been invaluable - especially about continuing to certify even with a $0 award (I definitely would have skipped that!), asking specifically for a tier 2 specialist, and being prepared for potential employer reporting errors. The logistics industry probably has similar potential for clerical mix-ups as all the other sectors people have mentioned. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and kept this thread updated with such helpful advice. You've all transformed what felt like an impossible situation into something with clear, actionable solutions. I'll definitely post an update once I get mine resolved to help keep this amazing resource going!