EDD certification confusion - reporting first week unemployed + second week started new job

Congrats on the new job! This is actually simple to handle when certifying. You certify for each week separately, so treat them as two different situations. For Week 1: answer YES to looking for work and NO to earning money (assuming you didn't earn anything). For Week 2: you can still answer YES to looking for work (since you were working, which counts as 'work search' activity) and YES to earning any money, then report your earnings for that week. Make sure to report the exact days you worked and what you earned BEFORE taxes in Week 2. The system will automatically calculate partial benefits for Week 2 if you earned less than your weekly benefit amount, or zero benefits if you earned more. You don't need to specifically tell them you're ending your claim - they'll figure it out based on your reported earnings.

you can just report what u earned each week, thats it. for the looking for work question i always answer yes no matter what. dont overthink it! they pay u for week 1 and either partial or nothing for week 2 depending on how much u made

Here's exactly what you need to do (I went through this last year): 1) You certify for each week individually, so Week 1 is separate from Week 2 on the certification form. 2) For Week 1: Answer YES to looking for work, and NO to earning money. 3) For Week 2: Answer YES to looking for work (because working satisfies the work search requirement), YES to earning money, then enter the amount you earned BEFORE taxes even if you haven't been paid yet. 4) For the question "Are you still unemployed?" on the Week 2 certification, you can answer NO if you consider this job permanent. 5) EDD's system will pay you full benefits for Week 1, and either reduced or no benefits for Week 2 depending on how much you earned. If you keep reporting earnings that exceed your weekly benefit amount, EDD will eventually stop sending you certification notices. You don't need to formally close your claim.

I was in a simular situation in february & I told EDD I got a job and they STILL kept sending me certification notices for like 2 months after!!!! So frustrating!!! I just stopped filling them out becase I didnt want to get accused of fraud but then I got worried maybe I should have formally cancelled something?? The notices eventually stopped but it was weird. The whole system is a mess!!

My brother-in-law just went thru this. Report week 1 as unemployed. Report week 2 with your job income. Pretty simple. They'll figure it out and pay you for week 1 only if your week 2 income is more than your benefit amount.

Have you tried calling EDD directly to ask? I spent DAYS trying to get through to an agent about a similar issue last month and it was impossible. Constant busy signals or getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an EDD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. The agent was able to walk me through exactly how to handle my certification with a mid-period job start. Definitely worth it versus stressing about potentially answering something incorrectly.

congrats on the new job!! honestly the edd system is designed to handle exactly this situation. just be honest about which week you worked and which you didnt. they calculate each week separately anyway.

I don't understand why everyone is saying to answer YES to looking for work for Week 2. The question literally asks if you LOOKED for work, not if you WORKED. If you were actually working and not looking anymore, technically the answer should be NO for Week 2. But the system doesn't properly account for someone who found a job mid-certification period. That's why so many people get confused by this.

Thank you everyone for the super helpful advice! I'm going to certify today with YES for work search on both weeks, NO to earnings for week 1, and YES with reported earnings for week 2. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!

Just wanted to add one more thing - make sure when you report your Week 2 earnings that you include the gross amount (before taxes) and report it for the actual week you worked, not when you get paid. So if you started the job on Wednesday of Week 2 and worked Wed-Fri, report those 3 days of earnings for Week 2 even if your first paycheck won't come until next week. EDD cares about when you earned the money, not when you received it. This tripped me up when I first started working again after unemployment. Good luck with the new job!

Another thing to keep in mind - if your new job is temporary or contract work, you might want to keep your EDD claim active just in case. You can continue certifying and reporting your earnings each week. If the job ends unexpectedly, you can immediately start receiving benefits again without having to file a new claim. But if it's a permanent position and you're confident it'll last, then what everyone else said is perfect - just report honestly for each week and let the system handle the rest. The key is being truthful about your work search efforts and earnings for each individual week.

This is such a common situation and you're handling it exactly right by asking before certifying! I went through the same thing about 6 months ago. The key thing to remember is that EDD's certification system is designed to handle mid-period employment changes - it happens all the time. Just be completely honest about each week individually and you'll be fine. For your salary question from earlier - yes, report exactly what you earned for those 3 days you worked in Week 2, which would be 3/5 of your weekly salary. Don't overthink the "looking for work" question either - the fact that you found and started a job during the certification period actually demonstrates you were actively job searching! The system will automatically calculate your benefits and stop sending certifications once you're consistently reporting full-time earnings. Congrats on the new job and good luck with your certification!

This is exactly the kind of situation where being transparent with EDD works in your favor! I went through something very similar last year. You're absolutely right to certify each week separately - Week 1 as fully unemployed (yes to job search, no to earnings) and Week 2 with your new job info (yes to job search since working counts, yes to earnings with the 3-day salary amount). The system handles these mid-period transitions really well when you're honest. One tip: after you certify, you should see your payment for Week 1 process normally, and Week 2 will either be reduced or zero depending on your earnings. Don't be surprised if you get one more certification notice after this - sometimes it takes a cycle or two for the system to recognize you're fully employed and stop sending them. Just keep reporting your full-time earnings if that happens and the notices will eventually stop. Congrats on landing the new job during such a quick turnaround!

I'm in almost the exact same situation right now! Started a new job halfway through my certification period and was totally confused about how to handle it. This thread is a lifesaver - I had no idea you could answer YES to work search when you're actually working because it counts as satisfying the requirement. I was about to answer NO for that week and was worried it would mess up my certification. Question for anyone who's been through this: if I started my job on Thursday of Week 2, should I report 2 days of earnings (Thu-Fri) or wait until the next certification to report a full week? The job pays hourly so it's easy to calculate exactly what I earned those 2 days.

This thread is so timely for me! I just went through this exact situation last month and was stressed about it for days. Here's what actually happened when I certified: I reported Week 1 as fully unemployed (yes to job search, no earnings) and Week 2 with my new job earnings (yes to job search, yes to earnings with my 4-day salary since I started Tuesday). EDD paid me full benefits for Week 1 and zero for Week 2 since my salary was higher than my weekly benefit amount. The whole process was completely smooth - no flags, no issues, no follow-up questions. I got one more certification notice about 2 weeks later, reported my full-time earnings again, and then the notices stopped coming. The key really is just being honest about each week individually. Don't stress too much about the exact wording of the questions - the system handles these transitions all the time and it's designed to work when you report accurately. You've got this!

I just went through this same situation a few weeks ago! The advice everyone's giving is spot on. I was really nervous about certifying correctly, but it ended up being much simpler than I expected. For your specific situation - definitely report Week 1 as fully unemployed (YES to work search, NO to earnings) and Week 2 with your job info (YES to work search since working counts, YES to earnings with your 3-day salary calculation). The system handled it perfectly - I got full benefits for my unemployed week and partial benefits for the week I started working since my new salary was less than my weekly benefit amount. One thing that helped me was writing down exactly what I earned each day during that partial work week so I could report the precise amount. The whole process was way less stressful than I thought it would be. Congrats on the new job and don't overthink it - you're handling this exactly right by asking questions first!

I went through this exact situation about 8 months ago and can confirm everything everyone is saying here! The key thing that helped me was treating each week completely separately when certifying. Week 1: fully unemployed (YES to job search, NO to earnings). Week 2: working (YES to job search because working satisfies the requirement, YES to earnings with exact amount for days worked). For your salary question - absolutely report 3/5 of your weekly salary since you only worked 3 days that week. EDD's system calculated everything perfectly - I got full benefits for Week 1 and zero for Week 2 since my earnings exceeded my weekly benefit amount. The certification notices stopped automatically after a couple cycles of reporting full-time earnings. One tip: keep documentation of your start date and earnings just in case, but honestly the whole process was seamless when I reported everything accurately. Don't stress about it - you're doing everything right by being thorough and asking questions first!

I'm a newcomer to this community but had to chime in because I just went through this exact situation two months ago! The advice everyone is giving is absolutely correct. I was so stressed about certifying properly when I started a job in the middle of my bi-weekly period, but it turned out to be much more straightforward than I expected. Here's what worked for me: Week 1 (unemployed): YES to work search, NO to earnings. Week 2 (started job Wednesday): YES to work search (because working counts!), YES to earnings with exactly 3 days worth of my salary. EDD paid me full benefits for Week 1 and zero for Week 2 since my new salary exceeded my weekly benefit amount. The whole thing processed smoothly with no issues or follow-up questions. The key really is just being completely honest about each week individually and not overthinking the question wording. Victoria, you're handling this perfectly by asking first - that shows you want to do it right! The system is definitely designed to handle these mid-period transitions. Congrats on the new job and don't stress about the certification!