EDD claim reopening - will benefits start from last claim end or current date?
I lost my job back in November and was on unemployment until March when I found temp work. That assignment ended 3 weeks ago, so I'm trying to reopen my original claim, but I'm confused about how EDD handles this. If I reopen now, will they backdate to when my temp job ended or just start from today's date? I didn't work at all for the past 3 weeks and definitely qualify, but I'm worried about the gap. Do I need to certify for all those past weeks at once? Will I lose those 3 weeks of potential benefits? Has anyone gone through this reopening process recently that can explain how it works?
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Ethan Clark
When you reopen your claim, EDD will generally let you certify from the date you became unemployed again (when your temp job ended). You'll need to complete certifications for each week since then. The system should prompt you to certify for all those missed weeks once your reopened claim is processed. Just make sure to report the exact date your temp job ended when reopening.
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Aisha Mahmood
•That's a relief! I wasn't sure if they'd make me start from today or if they'd let me go back to when I actually became unemployed again. Really appreciate the clarification.
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AstroAce
isnt it gonna depend on your benefit year??? like if your original claim is still within the same benefit year they just continue it, but if its been over a year you gotta do a whole new claim. atleast thats what happened to me last time
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Ethan Clark
•You're absolutely right - I should have mentioned that. If you're still within your benefit year (12 months from when you first filed), you reopen the existing claim. If your benefit year has ended, you would need to file a completely new claim. OP should check their UI Online account to see their benefit year end date.
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Yuki Kobayashi
When I reopened my claim after a 2-month job that didn't work out, they made me certify for ALL the weeks since my last payment. It was kinda annoying filling out like 8 certification forms back-to-back, but I eventually got paid for the weeks I was unemployed. Just make sure you have your last day of work documentation ready because they might ask for it. Also, they might put you in pending for a bit while they verify everything.
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Aisha Mahmood
•Did you have to call them to get the pending status cleared? I've heard EDD can leave people in pending for weeks without explanation...
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Carmen Vega
I HATE the reopening process!! They left me pending for THREE MONTHS and I couldn't get through to anyone on the phone! I kept getting the "we're experiencing high call volume" message and would get disconnected. The online system is a JOKE and gives you NO real information about what's happening with your claim. I finally had to contact my assembly member just to get someone to actually look at my reopened claim!
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Andre Rousseau
•If you're having trouble getting through to EDD on the phone, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They've got a system that can get you through to an EDD rep much faster than calling directly. Saved me hours of frustration when my reopened claim got stuck in pending. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km
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Zoe Stavros
Quick question... I'm in a similar situation but I did work ONE day during those three weeks between jobs. Do I still report that even if it was just one day? Will that mess up my claim reopening?
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AstroAce
•ya you gotta report ANY work even if its just a few hours on one day. they'll just reduce that weeks benefit a little bit based on what u earned. not reporting it = fraud and they can make you pay everything back plus penalties if they catch it
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Jamal Harris
My wife just went through this last month! Make sure you're very accurate with your last day of work when reopening. They let her certify for the missed weeks right away, but her payments were stuck on pending for about a week until she called. Once she talked to a rep, they cleared it that same day and the money was on her Money Network card the next morning.
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Aisha Mahmood
•That's good to know! I've been worried about getting stuck in pending limbo. Do you know what questions they asked your wife when she called? Did she need to provide any specific information?
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Jamal Harris
•They just verified her identity and asked about her last employer (name, contact info, reason for separation). Having her last paystub handy made it go smoothly. The rep mainly needed to verify the reason her temp job ended to make sure it was qualifying.
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Yuki Kobayashi
btw when you reopen make SURE you check your benefit year end date in UI Online first! If your benefit year expired while you were working that temp job, you'll need to file a whole new claim instead of reopening. The process is different and you might get a different weekly benefit amount based on your temp job earnings.
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Aisha Mahmood
•Thanks for mentioning this! I just checked and my benefit year ends in August 2025, so I should be good to just reopen. Really appreciate all the advice everyone.
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