EDD disqualification weeks confusion - am I permanently denied benefits?

This doesn't necessarily mean your entire claim is denied. When EDD says weeks are "applied to your disqualification," they're essentially serving you penalty weeks. This usually happens when they determine you provided incorrect information. Since you accidentally reported zero work when you actually got paid for 3 hours, they've imposed a disqualification period. The standard penalty is typically multiple weeks where you won't receive benefits, even if you'd otherwise qualify. The good news is that once you serve these penalty weeks, you can start receiving benefits again assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements.

got the same message last year!!! dont worry ur not perma-denied. they just make u serve penalty wks b4 u can get paid again. keep certifying!!

This is what's called a false statement penalty. When EDD determines you provided incorrect information (even accidentally), they impose penalty weeks where you must continue to certify but won't receive benefits. The number of penalty weeks depends on what they determined: - Minor discrepancies: 2-5 weeks - More significant issues: 5-10 weeks - Serious misrepresentations: 10+ weeks You should have received a Notice of Determination explaining the specific disqualification period. Check your UI Online inbox or wait for mail correspondence. Important: You MUST continue certifying during penalty weeks or you won't receive benefits when the penalty period ends.

EDD IS RIDICULOUS! They act like you committed fraud when it was an honest mistake about 3 HOURS of work!!! I had something similar happen and they gave me SEVEN penalty weeks for forgetting about a single day of training pay. The system is designed to punish people who make tiny errors while the real fraudsters get away with millions. It's completely backwards!!

my cousin went through this. he did try to appeal but they said since he technically did work those hours even if it was honest mistake it still counts as false statement. frustrating system but what can ya do

If you need to talk to an actual EDD rep about this (which I highly recommend), try using Claimyr. I was in a similar situation with penalty weeks and couldn't get through on the phones for days. Claimyr got me connected to an EDD agent in about 25 minutes when I'd been trying for over a week on my own. They have a good explanation video here: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. The rep was able to explain exactly how many weeks I needed to serve and confirmed I was certifying correctly so I wouldn't miss payments after the penalty period.

Impt question: during these penalty weeks are u required to do the work search activities? I mean since ur not getting paid anyway why bother? Just wondering cuz i might be in same boat soon...

Just to add - once you serve your penalty weeks, I'd recommend double-checking your claim balance to make sure it's correct. Sometimes after disqualifications, the system can take a bit to update properly. Also, the week after your last penalty week, call to confirm your certification was processed correctly if you don't see a payment pending within 2-3 days.

BTW my friend had the EXACT same thing happen (disqual for not reporting training pay) and when she finally got thru to EDD they told her she could have requested a waiver of the penalties since it was an honest mistake with proof! Of course they don't advertise this option anywhere!!! Might be worth asking about if u can ever reach a human there.