EDD denied my substitute teacher claim despite lack of work - can I appeal?

omg this happened to me too!!! Sub for 3yrs and everytime summer comes its the SAME HEADACHE with edd. they always deny us because of that stupid "reasonable assurance" letter the districts send. like yeah i MIGHT have work in september but what about JUNE JULY AUGUST???? reasonable assurance isnt a GUARANTEE and we should qualify because we literally have no income!

Substitute teacher unemployment can be complicated. The key issue here is the "reasonable assurance" letter. Under California unemployment law, school employees (including substitutes) generally don't qualify for benefits during scheduled breaks if they have reasonable assurance of returning to work after the break ends. However, you might have grounds for appeal if: 1. Your work situation has significantly changed (going from full-time equivalent hours to just a few days monthly) 2. The new school year will provide substantially less work than before 3. You can prove the reasonable assurance is not genuine or valid You should definitely appeal within 30 days of receiving your denial notice. Make sure to emphasize the significant reduction in available work and provide documentation showing the difference between your normal work schedule and current availability.

i'm not a sub but my cousin is and she got benefits last summer somehow. think it had something to do with working for multiple districts not just one? idk the details tho sorry

The EDD system is RIGGED against substitute teachers and has been for decades!! They use this "reasonable assurance" loophole to deny THOUSANDS of education workers every summer while administrators get paid year-round. I've been fighting this battle for 5 summers and only won ONCE when I had an amazing judge at my appeal hearing who actually understood education employment. Even then, they made me wait until LATE AUGUST for my hearing so by the time I got any money, summer was basically over!!! The system is designed to WAIT YOU OUT until school starts again!!

I successfully appealed a similar situation last year. The key was proving that the "reasonable assurance" didn't guarantee equivalent work. I collected data showing how many days I worked during the regular school year (about 18-20 days/month) versus what I was offered in summer school (only 5 days total). At the appeal hearing, I emphasized that a 75%+ reduction in available work constitutes "lack of work" even with reasonable assurance. The judge agreed. I'd suggest gathering: - Pay stubs showing your normal work pattern - Documentation of your layoff from main agency - Any communication showing the limited availability from the smaller district - Calculation of the percentage reduction in available work Also make sure to emphasize that the July payments were for May work, not summer work.

I represented myself, but I was very prepared. The hearing is less formal than you might think - mostly just explaining your situation clearly. One thing though - be prepared for EDD to be impossible to reach when you have questions during this process. I spent literally DAYS trying to get through to someone to clarify some details before my hearing. After getting that "we're experiencing high call volume" message about 50 times, I finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com). They basically connect you directly to an EDD rep so you don't waste hours redialing. There's a demo video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km It saved me a huge headache when I needed to confirm some details about my appeal date.

Yes, it worked for me. Better than spending days hitting redial. They basically navigate the EDD phone system for you and call you once they have an agent.

my wifes a substitute and her claim got denied too. the whole reasonable assurance thing is BS because last year she got "assured" of work but then only got called like 3 times in the first month when school started again. its not a real guarantee at all.

One important point about your appeal: timing matters. Don't wait to file it - you have 30 days from the date on your denial notice. Also, many substitute teachers don't realize they may qualify for partial unemployment if they're getting significantly reduced hours. If you're able to pick up a few days of work during summer school but it's much less than normal, you should report those earnings during certification but you might still qualify for partial benefits. Another strategy: if you've worked ANY non-education jobs during your base period, emphasize those in your appeal. Having non-school wages in your base period can sometimes help overcome the reasonable assurance exclusion.

Yes! The tutoring center work could potentially help your case, especially if it's not connected to a school district. Make sure to highlight this non-school employment in your appeal. This creates what's sometimes called a "mixed earner" situation that can sometimes allow you to qualify even with the reasonable assurance from the school district. Make sure to gather any documentation from that tutoring job as well when preparing your appeal.

Update us after ur appeal!!!! so many of us subs need to know how to beat this stupid system!!!!