EDD deducted my severance pay from UI benefits - is this normal?

Unfortunately, EDD does count severance pay as wages for the week it was paid. It's a common misconception that severance doesn't affect UI benefits. From the EDD website: 'Severance pay is reportable when received and may reduce UI benefits for that week.' Since your severance was likely more than your weekly benefit amount, they didn't pay you for that week. The good news is you didn't lose that week of eligibility - it just gets pushed to the end of your benefit year.

same thing happened 2 me last month! my severance was $2800 and they skipped paying me for that week. its BS cuz severance is for your TIME AT THE COMPANY not for that specific week!!!

I think there's some confusion here about SEVERANCE vs. VACATION PAYOUT. Vacation/PTO payout doesn't affect UI, but severance definitely does. I learned this the hard way during my last layoff. The EDD handbook is really clear that severance is considered wages for the week received and can reduce or eliminate benefits for that week. You did the right thing by reporting it honestly though! Much better than having to deal with an overpayment notice later.

This happened to me too. If you think about it, the logic kinda makes sense - you essentially got "paid" that week through your severance. What I did was call EDD to confirm this was correct (took me FOREVER to get through). They verified that yes, severance counts as income for the week received, and because my severance was more than my weekly benefit amount, I wasn't eligible for benefits that week. But i got my normal benefits the next week.

To clarify for everyone in this thread: 1. Severance pay IS reportable to EDD and DOES affect your benefits for the week it was received 2. Vacation/PTO payouts are NOT deducted from your UI benefits (this changed in 2014) 3. You did the right thing by reporting your severance honestly 4. The week isn't "lost" - it extends your benefit year by one week 5. Some employers spread severance over multiple weeks instead of a lump sum, which can actually help in some cases For future reference, here's what counts as income for UI purposes: wages, severance, holiday pay, worker's comp, sick pay, in-lieu-of-notice pay, bonus, and commission. What DOESN'T count: vacation/PTO payout, pension, jury duty pay, disability insurance benefits, and supplemental unemployment benefits.

everyone here is talking about policy but WHAT ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY PAID YOU THE NEXT DAY???? i certified on sunday and don't get paid until wednesday at the earliest. sometimes thursday. how did you get paid the very next day???

lol u all making me nervous now...i just got laid off and getting severance next month but split into 3 payments. does that mean ill lose 3 weeks of UI???? thats like $1200!

I went through this exact same situation last year! It's definitely confusing at first, but EDD is correct here. The key thing to remember is that severance pay is treated as "wages" for unemployment purposes, even though it feels unfair since it's compensation for your entire employment history, not just that specific week. What helped me was thinking of it this way: EDD considers that you were essentially "paid" during that certification week through your severance, so you weren't truly unemployed that week from their perspective. The silver lining is that this week gets tacked onto the end of your benefit year, so you're not actually losing out on total benefits - just the timing. Keep reporting honestly like you did, and your regular benefits should resume normally next week!

Hey Mateo, I totally get your frustration! I went through something similar when I got laid off from my marketing job last fall. Got a $3,200 severance and EDD did the exact same thing - skipped paying me for that week. At first I was really upset because like you said, the severance was for my 2+ years at the company, not just compensation for that one week. But after reading through the EDD guidelines (and calling them - which took forever), I learned that they treat ANY income received during a certification period as "wages" for that week, regardless of what it actually represents. The important thing is that you reported it honestly - I've seen horror stories of people who didn't report severance and ended up with huge overpayment notices. Your benefits should go back to normal next week, and that "lost" week will be added to the end of your benefit year. It's definitely not ideal timing when you need the money for rent, but at least you're not actually losing out on total benefits. Hang in there!

This is such a frustrating situation but unfortunately very common! I went through the exact same thing when I got my severance from a nonprofit last year. The way I think about it now is that EDD's system is pretty rigid - they see any money you receive during a certification week as "income" for that week, regardless of what it actually represents. It doesn't matter that your severance was earned over 3 years - to them, you got paid $4,300 during that certification period, which likely exceeded your weekly benefit amount, so no UI for that week. The good news is everyone here is right - you didn't lose that week permanently, it just shifts to the end of your benefit year. I know it doesn't help with your rent situation right now, but you did everything correctly by reporting it honestly. Some people try to hide severance payments and end up with massive overpayment issues later. Your regular benefits should resume normally for your next certification!

I just want to echo what everyone else has said - you absolutely did the right thing by reporting your severance honestly! I made the mistake of not reporting mine properly a few years back (I genuinely didn't understand the rules) and ended up with a $2,800 overpayment notice that took me months to resolve. It was a nightmare dealing with EDD collections and having my future benefits garnished. I know missing that week hurts right now, especially when rent is due, but you've avoided a much bigger headache down the road. The silver lining is that your benefit year gets extended by that one week, so you're not actually losing money - just getting it later. Have you looked into any emergency rental assistance programs in your area? Many counties in California have programs specifically for people dealing with temporary income gaps like this. Worth checking out while you wait for your benefits to resume normally next week!

I'm going through something similar right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I got laid off from my retail management job two weeks ago and just found out I'll be getting a severance payment next week. I was panicking because I wasn't sure how it would affect my UI benefits, but reading everyone's experiences here has really clarified things for me. It sounds like I need to report it honestly when I certify (which I definitely will after reading about those overpayment horror stories!) and just expect that I won't get benefits for that week. It's frustrating timing since I'm already tight on money, but knowing that the week gets added to the end of my benefit year makes it feel less like I'm actually losing money. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community has been such a lifesaver for navigating all these confusing UI rules as a first-timer!