Holiday pay and EDD unemployment certification - will they deduct for non-worked days?

ya u gotta report the holiday pay or its fraud. they'll just reduce ur benefits for that week not disqaulify u completely. i had the same thing for 4th of july last yr

You definitely need to report the holiday pay as income for the week you received it (not necessarily the holiday week itself - depends on your pay schedule). EDD uses a formula where they deduct part of your earnings from your weekly benefit amount. The first $25 or 25% of your earnings (whichever is greater) doesn't count against you, then they reduce your weekly benefit by the remainder. For example, if your weekly benefit is $450 and you got $200 in holiday pay, they'd deduct about $150 from your benefit, so you'd still get around $300 for that week. They don't count it as days worked since you didn't actually perform any services - it's just considered income.

Glad someone explained it! I had THE EXACT same question last month when my company paid us for President's Day. I was afraid to enter it wrong.

I've been through this several times with holiday pay. Here's what happens: you report the holiday pay for the week you certify, but you answer "NO" to the question about whether you worked, because you didn't physically work. Then report the income in the earnings section. EDD reduces your benefits using their partial formula, but they DON'T count it as days worked. This is important because some benefits are calculated based on days, not just money. One thing to watch for - make sure you enter the holiday pay on the certification that covers when you were PAID it, not necessarily the holiday date itself. My company sometimes pays holiday pay a week before the actual holiday.

The whole EDD system is DESIGNED to be confusing so they can deny benefits whenever possible! Holiday pay, severance, vacation payout - they all have different rules that aren't clearly explained ANYWHERE. I had to call them 37 TIMES last month just to get someone to explain how to report my retroactive holiday pay correctly. The system is completely BROKEN and they don't care!!!

If you're having trouble reaching EDD to get clarification on holiday pay or any other issues, I'd recommend trying Claimyr. I was in the same position last month with questions about reporting various types of income and couldn't get through the phone system. Claimyr connected me to an EDD representative in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km and their website is claimyr.com. It saved me hours of frustration and constant redialing.

To summarize for anyone else with the same question: 1. Yes, you must report holiday pay as income on your certification 2. No, holiday pay does NOT count as days worked since you didn't perform services 3. EDD will reduce your weekly benefit amount using their partial unemployment formula: - They don't count the first $25 or 25% of your earnings (whichever is greater) - They subtract the remainder from your weekly benefit amount 4. Report the holiday pay for the week you RECEIVED it, not necessarily the week of the holiday 5. Answer "NO" to the question about whether you worked on those days Hope this helps! The EDD handbook actually explains this, but it's buried in the fine print.

my uncle got in big trouble for not reporting some holiday pay so def report it!!!! they check with employers n everything

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I'll definitely report the holiday pay correctly as income but not as days worked. It's such a relief to understand how this works now. I'll make sure to report it for the week I actually received the payment too. I might try that Claimyr service if I run into more questions since calling EDD directly has been impossible.

Just went through this exact situation last month! One thing I'd add is to keep documentation of everything - screenshot your certification when you submit it and keep a record of the holiday pay amount. I also learned that if you're getting holiday pay from a previous employer (like if you left the job but they still owed you holiday pay), you still report it the same way but it might affect your claim differently. The key thing everyone mentioned is spot on - it's income, not work days. Don't stress too much about it, just be honest and report everything accurately!

I just want to echo what others have said - this tripped me up too when I first started certifying! The distinction between "income" and "days worked" is crucial. I made the mistake early on of thinking any payment from my employer meant I had to mark those as work days, which actually hurt my benefits more than necessary. Holiday pay is essentially a gift from your employer for a day you didn't work, so it's just income that gets calculated into the partial benefits formula. Also, pro tip: if you're unsure about timing, most companies include holiday pay in your regular paycheck cycle, so just report it for whichever certification period covers when that paycheck was issued. The EDD reps (when you can actually reach them) are pretty understanding about holiday pay questions since it comes up so much around major holidays.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with something similar but with a twist - my company gives us "floating holidays" that we can use throughout the year, and I used mine right before I got laid off. Now I'm wondering if I need to report that differently than regular holiday pay since I actually chose when to take it? The pay amount was the same as a regular day, but since it was my decision to use the floating holiday, does EDD consider that differently? I've been reading through all these responses and it sounds like any pay for non-worked time should be treated as income rather than work days, but wanted to check if anyone has experience with floating holidays specifically.

Just wanted to add my experience since I went through this exact same situation a few months ago! I was so paranoid about reporting my Christmas and New Year's holiday pay correctly that I actually called EDD three different times to confirm. Each rep told me the same thing everyone here is saying - report it as income for the week you received the payment, but answer "no" to working those days since you didn't actually perform any work duties. What really helped me was thinking of it this way: holiday pay is basically your employer giving you money for time they don't expect you to work, kind of like a bonus tied to a specific day. It's different from calling in sick and using sick pay (where you might have worked but couldn't) or taking vacation time (where you're using earned time off). With holidays, the office is closed and nobody expects you to work, so it's pure income without any work performed. My benefits were reduced by the partial payment formula just like others mentioned, but I still got a decent UI payment that week. The whole process was way less scary than I thought it would be once I understood the distinction!

I'm new to this whole unemployment process and this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea there was such a specific distinction between "income" and "days worked" - I probably would have made the same mistake of reporting holiday pay as work days if I hadn't found this discussion. One question I have after reading through everything: if your employer pays you holiday pay but then later in the same week asks you to come in for a few hours of actual work, how do you handle reporting both the holiday pay AND the actual work? Do you report the holiday pay as income and then separately report the hours you actually worked? I'm trying to understand how to handle mixed situations like that on the certification form. Also, I'm definitely bookmarking that Claimyr service mentioned earlier - it sounds like a lifesaver for when you can't get through to EDD directly. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, this has been so much more helpful than the official EDD website!

This whole conversation has been a goldmine of information! As someone who just started collecting unemployment benefits last month, I had no clue about the difference between reporting income vs. work days. I actually have holiday pay coming from my previous employer for Martin Luther King Day, and I was completely stumped about how to report it. Reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear that the key is understanding that holiday pay = income but NOT work days, since you're not performing any actual services. The partial benefit formula explanation was super helpful too - knowing that the first $25 or 25% (whichever is greater) doesn't count against you makes me feel much better about still getting some UI benefits that week. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about keeping screenshots and documentation of everything I submit. And honestly, after seeing how many people have struggled to reach EDD by phone, I might look into that Claimyr service right away rather than spending hours trying to get through their phone system when I inevitably have more questions. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - this community is so much more helpful than the official resources!

I'm jumping in as someone who just went through this exact scenario with my Thanksgiving and Black Friday holiday pay! The confusion is totally understandable because the EDD certification questions can be really misleading. What helped me was realizing that EDD cares about two separate things: 1) Did you perform work/services for an employer? and 2) Did you receive any income? For holiday pay, the answers are NO for #1 and YES for #2. I reported my holiday pay as income but answered "no" to working those days, and everything processed smoothly. My weekly benefit was reduced using their formula (like others explained), but I still received a partial payment which was exactly what I needed. One tip that saved me: I called my HR department to confirm exactly when the holiday pay would appear in my paycheck so I could report it during the correct certification week. Some companies pay it the week before the holiday, others after. Getting that timing right is important for accurate reporting. Don't stress too much - you're asking the right questions and being careful about reporting correctly, which is exactly what EDD wants to see!