How to stop unemployment when you get a job - California EDD steps

So I should still certify for the week that includes my start date, just answer yes to the work questions and report my wages for those days? I wasn't sure if I should skip that last certification entirely.

Exactly - certify for it and report whatever you earned from Monday through Saturday of that week, since EDD weeks run Sunday to Saturday. The earnings formula means you'll probably get a reduced payment or nothing for that week depending on your weekly benefit amount, but the important thing is the record is accurate.

This is right. The week runs Sunday through Saturday and you report wages for the week they were EARNED, not when your first paycheck actually arrives. That's a mistake a lot of people make.

That makes sense. My start date is Monday so the first full week I'll have worked the whole thing. I'll make sure I report those wages when my next certification comes up.

edd definitely cross references with wage records. a friend of mine forgot to report two weeks of wages and got an overpayment letter like eight months later. it was a whole thing

Yep, wage information from employers gets reported to the state. It's not worth the headache - just report what you earn and let the math work itself out.

Wait that's actually really useful about the reopening part. What if the job is probationary and I get let go in the first 90 days - I didn't even think about that scenario.

The agent said to reopen through UI Online as soon as that happens, before the benefit year ends. The claim doesn't disappear just because you stopped certifying.

Good info about the benefit year. Mine expired before I realized I could've reopened it and I had to file a whole new claim. Lost like three weeks of back eligibility I think.

i literally thought there was like a cancel button somewhere lol. been on my claim for two months and was wondering what id do when i got hired

No cancel button anywhere! The UI Online dashboard at https://myedd.edd.ca.gov/ just shows your payment history and balance. When you stop certifying after going back to full-time, the remaining balance on your claim just stays there unused until the benefit year ends.

The 52-week window makes sense. So technically I could reopen it if something happened with the job, as long as it's within that year. Good to know.

the earn vs paid date thing messes everyone up. i reported mine on the wrong week and had to contact EDD to fix it. you cant amend a certification yourself, you have to reach out to them

Exactly, the Report Wages tool in UI Online helps you figure out what a week's wages are before you certify, but once a certification is submitted you need to contact EDD if something was wrong.

Mine does bi-weekly payroll so I'll be careful to split it by the actual days worked. Really glad someone mentioned this because I would have just gone by the check date.

omg i was looking at that number thinking i had to 'use it up' somehow. that's actually a relief

Nope, completely normal. The balance just closes out when the benefit year ends. You don't lose anything by not using it - it's not like PTO at a job.

Worth knowing about the balance. I called EDD like three times thinking there was something wrong with my account because the balance wasn't going down the way I expected.

I updated mine just out of habit. The CalJOBS site is caljobs.ca.gov if anyone needs it. Mostly useful while you're in job search mode but doesn't require any action when you get hired.

Does EDD actually check CalJOBS activity once you're back to full-time employment? Like would there be any issue with just leaving it and not touching it?

No issue at all from what I understand. The work search and CalJOBS registration requirements are for when you're actively collecting, not after you're employed. Once you stop certifying you're off EDD's radar for those requirements.

How did you know what your 'pro-rated wages' were for a partial week? I'm assuming it's just the hourly rate times the hours actually worked?

Exactly - whatever you actually earned those days. I used the Report Wages screen in UI Online to double-check the math before I submitted the certification. It won't let you adjust after you submit so it's worth previewing.

i had an adjudication issue before too and it made me so nervous about every little thing. glad to hear being extra careful paid off for you

wait so if you get let go from the new job can you just start certifying again or do you have to like re-apply somehow

You reopen the existing claim through UI Online - there's a reopen option on the homepage. It's not the same as filing fresh. You would have to explain why you stopped working again and there might be a phone interview depending on the circumstances of the new job ending, but your original claim and benefit year stay intact.

This is an important distinction. 'Reopen' vs 'refile' are two different things and which one you do depends on whether the benefit year is still active.

How quick was the response through the UI Online message system? I might use that to double-check my final certification.

Took about two business days. The agent confirmed the earn vs. pay date rule and also mentioned that my benefit year end date was still several months away if I needed to reopen.

The message feature through UI Online is underrated. Easier than sitting on hold and you get everything in writing.

Honestly same, I could not find a clear straightforward answer anywhere. This thread has been super helpful.

edd really could make this clearer on their site. the guide for new claimants talks all about how to START but barely covers what to do when you go back to work

Yeah the safest approach is always just report what the certification form asks about and let EDD do the math. Trying to decide yourself what 'counts' and what doesn't is how people end up with overpayments.

Exactly. The form asks specific questions - answer them honestly and completely. Severance, vacation pay, final paychecks - report it and move on.

Important correction to something above in the thread though - someone said severance 'won't affect your claim' as a rule. EDD actually decides how it counts, full stop. Report it and let EDD determine the impact on a case-by-case basis.

That's a good tip about checking Claim History after. I'll do that after my first week of work to make sure the last certification processed correctly.

Just make sure your most recent certification actually shows up in Claim History before you check - sometimes there's a 24-48 hour processing lag before it appears.

The 'certify even during an appeal' rule is specifically so EDD can pay you for back weeks if the appeal goes your way. Good point that it applies in the going-back-to-work situation too if there are still open issues.

Exactly - once you have wages to report, those weeks might pay out at a reduced amount or nothing, but having the certification on file is still what matters if EDD eventually decides in your favor on the other issue.

That's a good distinction. My situation didn't involve a phone interview but I could see how those two things overlapping would be confusing.

The interview is specifically about why you left the job that made you file - it's really a separate matter from what's happening with current employment. Both things can be true at once.

the timing on these things never lines up neatly does it. getting called for an interview right when you land something is very on-brand for edd lol

Ask EDD is the online form right? i always forget about that option

Yes - Ask EDD is on edd.ca.gov. You submit a question and they reply, usually within a few days. Good for things like this where you just need a simple confirmation and don't need to talk to someone live.

The idea that the certification IS the communication makes it make sense to me. You're not quitting unemployment, you're just accurately reporting that you have full-time work.

The Report Wages tool is really useful for that preview. The formula EDD uses: the first $25 or 25% of your gross earnings for the week, whichever amount is higher, doesn't count against you, and everything above that is subtracted from your weekly benefit amount.

Yep, so for someone with a $400 weekly benefit amount and say $200 in earnings - 25% of $200 is $50 which is more than $25, so $150 gets subtracted and they'd get $250 for that week. The Report Wages screen does that math automatically.

wait so its possible to still get SOME payment for a partial week when you start a new job? i assumed once you got hired it was just zero for everything

I don't even know where I put my DE 429Z but I think UI Online shows the benefit year end date somewhere in the account too, right?

Should be in your Claim History section. The award notice has it too - it's the date that's exactly 52 weeks after the Sunday of the week you first filed.

Keeping that date in mind is smart. I lost track of mine and ended up filing a whole new claim when I could have just reopened. Cost me the processing wait time.

The 1099G at the end of the year will show the total benefits you received for the full calendar year, not just up to when you got hired. EDD mails it in January, or you can find it in UI Online under Payments and then the 1099G section. UI benefits are taxable at the federal level but not for California state income tax - so factor that into your federal return.

oh interesting so it goes on my federal return but not state. i knew it was taxable somehow but didn't realize it was only federal. thanks

Worth double checking with a tax person for your specific situation, but that's how EDD explains it - federal taxable income, exempt from California state income tax. And if you had EDD withhold 10% federal taxes during your certifications, that shows on the 1099G too.

How long did it take from reopening to actually getting paid again?

The interview was about a week after I reopened, and payments started processing for the certified weeks within about two weeks after that. No waiting week the second time since I'd already served it in the original claim.

The no-second-waiting-week thing is worth knowing about. The waiting week is per claim, not per time you reopen, so you don't sit out another unpaid week if you reopen within the same benefit year.

pending weeks make me so anxious even when i know theyre probably fine. how long is a normal pending period before you should actually be concerned?

From what I've seen and read, a few days to a couple weeks for a standard certification with wages reported is pretty normal. It gets more complicated if there's an adjudication issue, an identity verification problem, or anything unusual on the claim. If it goes past three weeks with no movement and no notice in the mail, that's when it's worth reaching out to EDD.

Claimyr got me through to an EDD agent in about twenty minutes when I had a pending week stuck for over a month - turned out there was an identity verification flag I hadn't received notice about. The agent walked me through what had to happen to clear it and payment processed about a week after I completed the ID.me verification.

Good clarification. The key distinction really is 'same benefit year reopen' vs 'new claim after benefit year expires.' Two completely different situations with different rules.

And just to add - the waiting week is served when you first certify for it, not necessarily in week one of your benefit year. If your first eligible week has an issue EDD needs to resolve, the waiting week gets served after that's cleared.

Mine should go to direct deposit which is what I set up at the start of the claim. Good to know nothing changes about how the final payment comes through.

Direct deposit, Money Network card, or paper check - whatever you set up at the start is what your final payment uses. No change needed.

after going through this whole thread the tldr is basically: be honest on your last certification, report what you earned, then stop. edd handles the rest