EDD only paying one week at beginning of claim - do we get the withheld week at the end?

This is normal and it's called the "waiting period week." It's the first week of your claim and by law EDD doesn't pay for it. Unfortunately, you don't get paid for that week at the end of your claim either - it's essentially a deductible week. Every new claim has this waiting period, so if you file again in the future, you'll have another waiting week.

ya its the stupid waiting week they never pay it. happened 2 me too

Actually, this is WRONG information being spread. The waiting period is indeed the first week, but during certain disaster periods they've WAIVED it. Like during COVID they waived it for a while. I think they stopped the waiver in like 2022 or something. But I'd double check if there's any current waiver in effect for your area - sometimes they waive it for specific counties if there are disasters like wildfires etc.

Same thing happed to me to!!! I was sooooo confused when i certified for 2 weeks and only got $$$ for 1!!! Called EDD like 50 times and couldnt get through to ask why. Nobody tells u about this stupid waiting week until AFTER u see the missing money!!!

just wanna mention that sometimes it LOOKS like they didn't pay you for a week but it's actually because of how the payment timing works. double-check your UI Online payment history to make sure it actually says "waiting period" for that week and not just pending or something else!

The waiting week is extremely frustrating, I know. When I was helping my sister with her claim last month, we faced the same issue. What's worse is that you still have to certify for that week and meet all eligibility requirements even though you don't get paid for it. It's basically like they're making you jump through all the same hoops but without the benefit. One thing to note - if your claim ends and you file a new claim immediately after (assuming you qualify), you'll have to serve ANOTHER waiting period week. The only exception is if you reopen the same claim within your benefit year.

That's correct. If you reopen the same claim within your benefit year (which is typically 12 months from when you first filed), you don't serve another waiting period. You only serve a new waiting period when you file a completely new claim after your benefit year ends.

THIS IS WHY I HATE EDD!! They take money from people who already lost their job and need every penny!! It's such BS!!! 😤😤😤

Thanks everyone for clearing this up. Still sucks but at least now I know what happened and can adjust my budget accordingly. Wish they would make this more obvious when you first apply instead of letting people find out when they're already counting on that money.