How much was California EDD unemployment during COVID and what do current benefits look like now?

Okay that $600 add-on was way more than I remembered. So today she'd be looking at maybe $350-$450 per week with nothing extra on top of that?

yep the extra federal money is long gone. $450 is the California max right now. it hasn't gone up in years which is honestly embarrassing given the cost of living here

The base period calculation is important to understand here. California EDD looks at earnings from roughly 5-17 months before you file, not your most recent pay. If she had any gaps in employment or lower earning quarters recently that could affect her WBA even if her annual salary was $68k.

I totally get that fear. That's kind of the situation my coworker is in now, she's worried about making rent on unemployment benefits alone.

same boat honestly. filed last year and $450/week in the bay area is basically nothing. rent here is $2800/month minimum

Yeah the max hasn't kept up with California's cost of living at all. Other states have higher maximums now. It's a real problem that nobody in Sacramento seems interested in fixing.

Three job contacts per week - is that contacts as in applications or can it be things like attending a job fair or updating a resume?

It can be a mix of activities. Submitting applications counts, but so does attending career workshops, reaching out to employers about openings, and using CalJOBS. California EDD has a list of qualifying activities. Keep records of everything because they can audit your job search log.

dont forget she needs to be able and available to work every week she certifies. if she takes a vacation or goes out of town she needs to understand the rules around that or it could affect her eligibility

Oh interesting, I'll pass that along to her. She's already been anxious about the whole process and I know the phone stuff stresses people out.

I've heard of Claimyr but never tried it. Does it actually work or is it one of those things that sounds good and then disappoints?

Genuinely worked for me. I'd been trying to reach California EDD for two weeks about why my claim was stuck in adjudication. Used Claimyr and had an agent on the line within a few hours. The agent resolved my issue on that call. So yeah it delivered for me.

going to bookmark that for my next inevitable EDD battle lol

The federal pandemic supplements ended in 2021 and are not coming back under current law. What you might have seen recently could be news about proposals to increase the California state maximum, but nothing has passed. Current max is still $450/week for regular UI.

oh wow okay. i've been telling people wrong this whole time lmao

This is actually a really common misconception. A lot of people still think pandemic-era benefits are available and are surprised when their benefit amount reflects only the California state calculation with no federal add-on.

That's reassuring to hear. She was bracing for a nightmare based on horror stories from people who dealt with it during COVID.

I'd still manage expectations a bit. Even with improvements California EDD has rough patches and if you end up in adjudication it can still feel like a black hole with no communication.

Fair point. The baseline experience is better but edge cases and adjudication situations can absolutely still drag out. The key is documenting everything and following up consistently.

That breakdown is super helpful thank you. So it was literally more than double at peak.

yeah basically. and the $600 was the same for everyone regardless of income so lower wage workers actually saw the biggest percentage increase in replacement income. some people got closer to 100% or more of their prior wages replaced during that period

this is why there was so much political controversy about it. i get why they did it but the economic effects were complicated

I don't care about the politics I just miss having enough money to actually live on lol

Oh I had no idea it was taxable at the state level too. That changes the math a bit.

Yeah California is one of the states that taxes unemployment benefits. The withholding option through UI Online lets you set up 10% federal withholding but you'd need to handle the state portion separately or account for it when you file your taxes. Definitely worth planning for.

This catches so many people off guard. Especially people who got large back payments during COVID and then got hit with a big tax bill all at once because nothing was withheld.

The Claimyr tool I mentioned earlier in this thread (claimyr.com) would help you actually reach someone. But also - you're not supposed to voluntarily quit and expect to receive UI benefits. Quitting without good cause disqualifies you. If you're thinking of leaving your job you should look into whether your situation qualifies as a constructive discharge or good cause quit before making that move.

oh i didnt realize voluntary quit was an issue. i thought unemployment was just for anyone without a job

Nope - to qualify for California EDD unemployment you generally need to have lost your job through no fault of your own. Layoff, position elimination, or sometimes a reduction in hours. Voluntary resignation disqualifies you unless you can demonstrate good cause which is a high bar to meet.

well that changes my whole plan. thank you for telling me before i did something dumb

8 weeks of adjudication with no income is genuinely frightening. did you have any savings to bridge that gap or how did you manage?

I had a little savings and my partner was working but it was extremely stressful. I was checking UI Online every single day hoping the status would change. when it finally did it was just suddenly approved with no explanation for the delay.

This is unfortunately common. The adjudication black hole is one of the most frustrating parts of California EDD. If you're in that situation the best thing you can do is keep certifying every two weeks without fail and try to reach a live agent to at least document that you're following up. Once approved the back payments do come through for all the weeks you certified.

Good to know. I'll make sure she's aware of that. What happens if you miss it - do they just reschedule or does it automatically disqualify you?

It depends but missing can trigger a disqualification determination that you then have to appeal. Sometimes California EDD will reschedule if you contact them quickly but it's not guaranteed. The safest approach is to treat that call window like a medical appointment - clear your schedule and have your documentation ready.

Also make sure her phone can receive calls from unknown or blocked numbers. California EDD interviews do come from blocked numbers and if she has settings that automatically reject those she'll miss the call and not know she missed it.

Federal unemployment supplements during COVID were authorized by Congress as emergency legislation. Whether similar legislation would pass in a future recession depends entirely on the political environment at the time. There's no automatic trigger that would bring back the $600 or $300 supplements. It would require new legislation.

so basically don't count on it

Correct. For planning purposes assume you're working with the California state UI maximum of $450/week. Anything additional would require a congressional act.

That's exactly the kind of concrete info I needed. So she's probably looking at close to the $450 max weekly which is good to know even if it's still not a lot in California.

Probably yes. The actual determination comes from California EDD after they review her wage records with her employers but $68k annually distributed evenly is a strong base period for California purposes.

also worth noting California EDD will calculate this automatically from your reported wages - she doesn't need to calculate it herself before filing. she'll get a notice showing her calculated WBA after her claim is processed

The PUA program that covered gig workers and self-employed individuals during COVID ended in September 2021 along with the other federal pandemic programs. Under current California law regular UI requires W-2 employment with wages reported to California EDD. Independent contractors and self-employed individuals generally don't qualify for regular California UI benefits.

ugh. that sucks. i'm doing a mix of W-2 and 1099 work right now so i guess i'd only get credit for the W-2 portion

Correct - only W-2 wages paid into the California UI system count toward your base period earnings and eligibility. Your 1099 income wouldn't factor in at all for California EDD purposes.

Bookmarked. Really hoping she has a smooth claim but good to have this in the back pocket.

I wish I had known about this during my adjudication nightmare. Would have saved me weeks of stress.

adding this to my california edd survival toolkit for real

That's a really accurate description of the process. Filing just opens the claim. Eligibility determination can trigger adjudication if there's any issue. Then even once eligible you still need to certify every two weeks to actually receive payments. Missing any step in that chain can stop your money cold.

exactly and she didn't realize she needed to keep certifying while waiting for adjudication to resolve. she skipped a couple of certification periods thinking she had to wait for the adjudication to finish first and then had to explain the gaps

This is a critical point - always keep certifying during adjudication! If you eventually get approved California EDD will pay the back weeks but only for weeks you actually certified. If you stop certifying during adjudication those weeks are gone forever.

That's something my coworker hadn't heard about. Good to give her a heads up that there might be a verification step involved.

Yeah ID.me is required now as part of the California EDD account setup on myEDD. You verify your identity through their system with a government ID and sometimes a selfie or video verification. Most people get through it fine but occasionally the automated system has issues and you have to do a video call with an ID.me agent which adds time.

I had to do the video verification and it actually wasn't bad. Took about 20 minutes and was done same day. But you do need to have a government-issued photo ID handy and make sure the name on your ID matches exactly what's in the California EDD system.

File the same week you're laid off if it happens - don't wait. The benefit week starts on Sunday and every week you delay is a week you can't recover. It's also way less scary once you're actually in the process than the anticipation makes it seem.

thank you. i kept putting off even learning about it because it felt like admitting it was going to happen. but being prepared is probably smarter than being surprised

Being prepared is absolutely the right move. Have your last few pay stubs handy, know your employer's address and contact info, and understand that a brief processing delay at the beginning is normal and doesn't mean anything is wrong with your claim.

Glad it was helpful! Sharing with my coworker now. The forum came through way faster than anything I would have found on the official California EDD website honestly.

the official california edd website is notoriously hard to navigate. real people who've been through the process are often a better source for the practical stuff

And if you ever need to actually reach California EDD by phone remember claimyr.com - worth having in your back pocket. So many claim issues really do require speaking to a live agent and that's been the most reliable way I've found to make that happen.