EDD disqualification weeks - do I have to repay benefits or just serve penalty weeks?

This is actually correct. There's an important distinction between disqualification and overpayment in the EDD system. When you're disqualified, it means you weren't eligible for benefits during those weeks, but instead of making you pay back the money, EDD places a "penalty" on your record. You'll need to serve those weeks (go without benefits) next time you file for unemployment. Overpayments are different - those happen when you were paid more than you should have been (like if you reported income incorrectly or EDD made a calculation error). Those DO require repayment plus potential penalties. Just to be clear - this only applies to standard disqualifications. If they determined fraud was involved, that's a whole different situation with different repayment requirements.

im going thru something similar and got a notice that i was DQd for 5 weeks but im supposed to repay the money??? this doesnt make any sense now!!! the letter literally says "overpayment" but also "disqualification" so which is it EDD!! why cant they be clear about anything!!!

I had literally the exact same situation during covid! I was disqualified for 9 weeks and I never got an overpayment notice either. I just reapplied for unemployment last month and yep, I had to serve those 9 weeks with no benefits before I started getting paid. It was rough not getting anything for 2 months but at least I didn't have to pay back the original amount from 2021. So yeah sounds like what they told you is correct.

there's actually 2 different types of disqualification - Section 1257(a) is for eligibility issues and you just serve penalty weeks next time, but Section 1257(b) is for willful misrepresentation and you have to repay PLUS serve penalty weeks. which one was on your judge decision?

If you're really concerned, you could try calling EDD again to double-check. I've been helping my mom with her unemployment issues recently and found a service called Claimyr that helped her get through to an EDD representative quickly instead of calling for days. It's at claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km Might be worth using if you want absolute confirmation from another EDD rep about your situation. My mom found it helpful to get different info from different reps since sometimes one person explains things better than another.

This doesn't sound right to me. I got disqualified for 5 weeks during COVID too and I HAD to repay it all plus a 30% penalty on top!! I think the rep gave you wrong info. They ALWAYS want their money back. I would call again and talk to someone else.

The rep is right! My brother's situation: disqualified for 11 weeks in 2020, appealed and lost, never got overpayment notice. He filed new claim in 2023, served the 11 weeks (no payments), then benefits started. No repayment required. Depends on WHY you were disqualified though.

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I'm going to call EDD one more time to confirm and make sure I understand everything correctly. Will update if I learn anything new that might help others in the same situation. The unemployment system is so complicated sometimes!

UPDATE: I called again and spoke to a different rep who confirmed what the first one said. Because my disqualification was related to availability for work (Section 1253) and NOT false statement/willful misrepresentation (Section 1257b), I only need to serve the weeks next time I apply, no repayment needed! Such a relief!

This is such valuable information! I've been in a similar situation and was panicking about potential repayment. It's really helpful to see the distinction between Section 1253 (availability issues) and Section 1257(b) (false statements). For anyone else dealing with this, I'd recommend checking your determination letter carefully for which specific section your disqualification falls under - it makes all the difference in whether you just serve penalty weeks or have to repay money. Thanks for sharing your experience and the update!