EDD marked 'Excessive Earnings' for reduced hours at warehouse job - only made $700 but WBA is $450

EDD has a formula for partial unemployment. If your weekly wages exceed your WBA, they consider it excessive earnings. So if you made $700 and your WBA is $450, you won't qualify for that week. EDD lets you earn up to 25% of your WBA without reduction ($112.50 in your case), then reduces your benefit dollar-for-dollar after that. So if you earned more than $562.50 ($450 + $112.50), you'd get $0 for that week.

Ugh, that's frustrating! So basically I have to lose MORE hours before I can get any help? My bills don't care that I'm missing 12 hours of pay...

Just to clarify this a bit more - EDD looks at your gross earnings (before taxes and deductions) when calculating excessive earnings. So even though you're paying $200 for health insurance, they're still counting that $700 as your weekly income. It's a common issue with reduced hours claims. If your hours get cut even more, you'll likely qualify for some benefits in future weeks.

Thanks for explaining. So there's nothing wrong with my claim, I just didn't lose ENOUGH hours to qualify that week? Does that mean I should still keep certifying if my hours stay reduced?

yes keep certifying!!! i had smiliar issue at my job last year. some weeks i got benifits some weeks I didnt. depends on hours. if u dont certify for a few weeks and then ur hours drop more u might miss out on money u could of got.

Good point - I'll definitely keep certifying then. Thanks!

When I had reduced hours at my retail job the EDD calculatons were super frustrating. One week I'd qualify for partial benefits, next week nothing even though my hours were still WAY below normal. The whole system is designed to give you as little money as possible IMO. They don't care if you're struggling to pay bills with reduced hours as long as you're still making JUST enough to disqualify you. It's RIDICULOUS.

That's not entirely accurate. The formula is actually set by state law, not some arbitrary decision by EDD staff. But I agree it can be frustrating when you're right on the edge of qualifying. The threshold is calculated based on statistical living wage data for California regions.

If you want to double-check their calculations or get more information about your specific situation, you might want to try calling EDD directly. However, as many people know, getting through to an actual person at EDD can be nearly impossible. I was in a similar situation last year and spent days trying to reach someone.\n\nI finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me connect with an EDD rep within about 20 minutes instead of spending days redialing. They have a video demo of how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km\n\nOnce I got through, the rep explained exactly how my reduced hours were being calculated and confirmed I was just above the threshold that week, but qualified for benefits in subsequent weeks when my hours dropped further.

Thanks for the tip! I might need to do that if my situation gets more complicated. For now I think I understand why I didn't qualify that week, but I'll keep this in mind if I need to speak with someone.

Does anyone know if the health insurance deduction can be excluded from the calculation? It seems unfair that they count money you never actually receive as \

Unfortunately no, EDD uses gross earnings before any deductions (including health insurance, 401k, etc). They only look at what you earned, not what you actually took home after deductions.

Here's the exact formula EDD uses for partial unemployment with reduced hours:\n\n1. Take your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) - in your case $450\n2. You can earn up to 25% of your WBA without reduction ($112.50)\n3. After that, benefits are reduced dollar-for-dollar\n\nSo the maximum you could earn while still getting at least some benefit would be:\n$450 (WBA) + $112.50 (25% earnings allowance) = $562.50\n\nSince you earned $700 that week, you exceeded the threshold by $137.50, which is why you received the \

This is super helpful - now I understand exactly how they're calculating it. I guess I'll just have to hope my hours don't get cut even more, but at least now I know at what point I'd start receiving some benefits if they do. Thank you!

how many ppl at ur warehouse got hours cut? my cousins at amazn and they did same thing to him right b4 holiday season which makes NO SENSE???

Almost everyone on my shift got cut. They said something about

I went through something similar when I was working part-time at a grocery store last year. The EDD formula can be really harsh when you're right at that threshold. What helped me was keeping detailed records of my hours and earnings each week so I could predict when I might qualify for benefits. Also, even though you didn't qualify that particular week, make sure you're still reporting your earnings accurately when you certify - being honest about your wages is super important even if it means getting $0 that week. The system is frustrating but at least now you know exactly where the cutoff is for your situation.