If I get a severance can I get unemployment in California EDD?

That's exactly the reassurance I needed. So I report the lump sum on whichever certification covers the week I actually received it, and then EDD sorts out whether it affects that week?

Pretty much, yes. Report it in the week you got paid, and EDD decides what it means for that week's benefit. The Report Wages option in UI Online lets you log earnings before you certify, which helps keep things straight.

Came here to say the same thing - my severance was also a lump sum under a written company policy and EDD processed my payments normally. I reported it and everything went through fine.

ID verification was also something I had to do - I got the DE 1326C in the mail asking me to verify through ID.me. Took me about 20 minutes to do it on my phone. Good to know the severance wasn't what held up your weeks.

Pending weeks after filing almost always seem to be identity verification, at least from what I've read on here. Glad you got through to an agent and got it sorted.

The phone queue at EDD is brutal, so knowing there's a way to actually get through is useful. My claim had a totally different issue but I'm going to try that for my situation.

Ah okay, so if my company had paid me for two unused vacation weeks on top of the severance I'd need to report those separately and they'd be treated differently?

Yes, vacation pay and in-lieu-of-notice pay are both on EDD's list of wages to report, and EDD decides how they affect each week. Severance under a written policy is on the report list too but falls under different treatment. Just report everything honestly and let EDD sort it - that's really all you can do.

This is a really important distinction that I feel like nobody ever explains clearly. The coworker advice is so often just wrong and people end up not filing when they absolutely should.

Didn't realize the live chat was available through UI Online - I'll keep that in mind for when I do my first certification. When does that usually happen, like how long after I filed?

Typically about two weeks after EDD processes your application. Your first certification usually covers the waiting week plus one paid week, so you'd be reporting on two weeks at once.

The waiting week thing confused me for so long. You certify for it but you don't get paid for it - it's just the first week of your claim and it's always unpaid. After that your weekly benefit amount kicks in.

So the waiting week is kind of like a deductible basically - you serve it and then you start getting paid. Got it.

This is good to know for people with structured payouts rather than lump sums. I had the same worry when I was laid off - kept thinking each installment would zero out my UI for that week.

Yeah the anxiety around it was real. Just report it accurately and let EDD make the determination. That's honestly all you can control.

Wait I thought the waiting week DID reduce your total. So if my max benefit is say $11,000 I still get the full $11,000 over 26 paid weeks even though there's technically a 27th week at the start?

Exactly right. The waiting week doesn't subtract from the total your claim can pay. It's unpaid but it doesn't shrink your maximum benefit amount. The 26 weeks of payments are on top of it.

I had completely misunderstood this too - thought I was losing a week's worth of money. That's actually a relief.

The phone lines are genuinely awful. That's exactly why I went the Claimyr route for my own claim - ended up talking to an agent about my pending weeks instead of just giving up after the third disconnection.

So the bonus situation - did you ever get it resolved? I reported it as a bonus and EDD hasn't flagged anything but I'm still a little anxious about it.

Bonuses are on EDD's wages-to-report list, same as severance. Report it in the week it was earned, EDD decides how it affects that week if at all. You did the right thing by reporting it.

I haven't gotten the DE 8405 yet but I'll watch for it in my mail. Is CalJOBS registration something I can do before I get the notice just to be safe?

Yes, you can go ahead and create your profile at caljobs.ca.gov and post your resume before the notice arrives. Getting it done early is better than scrambling close to the deadline.

CalJOBS registration caught me off guard on my first claim. I didn't realize it was a separate requirement from the EDD application itself and my payments got held up for about a week until I completed it.

EDD is supposed to tell you if you're exempt from the CalJOBS requirement. If you don't get the DE 8405 at all it might mean you're in an exempt category, but it's worth registering anyway to be safe.

My highest quarter was probably Q3 of this year when we had mandatory overtime for about six weeks. Does that mean my weekly amount should be relatively decent compared to a normal quarter?

EDD's Unemployment Benefit Calculator on its site can give you an estimate based on your quarterly wages before the DE 429Z arrives. Worth running the numbers so you know what to expect.

The alternate base period also exists - EDD automatically uses it if the standard base period doesn't give you enough wages to qualify. It uses the four most recent completed quarters instead. Something to know if your overtime-heavy quarter was very recent.

Yeah that tracks. The person who told me was a coworker, not even HR, so the information was definitely secondhand. Good to hear from someone who went through it firsthand.

Definitely file right away. Every day you wait is a day your benefit year doesn't start and you can't get those weeks back once they've passed.

Vacation payout on termination is on EDD's list of wages to report and it's treated differently from severance under a company plan. EDD decides how it affects the specific weeks it covers. Report it honestly when you certify and let EDD make the determination - nobody here can tell you exactly how it'll land on your claim.

Okay so I should report it and not assume it'll be fine the way severance might be. Got it, I'll report it and see what EDD decides.

Always better to report and have EDD reduce a week than to not report and face an overpayment notice later. The penalty for a fraud overpayment is way worse than a small reduction in one week's payment.

That false statement disqualification sounds terrifying. So if I report everything honestly and EDD decides the severance doesn't affect my payments, I'm protected even if someone later argues I shouldn't have been paid?

Honest and accurate reporting is your protection. If EDD pays you after you've reported everything truthfully, an overpayment that results from that wouldn't be classified as fraud. You've done your part.

There's also the overpayment waiver option if you ever do get a notice - you can apply for a waiver using the DE 1446UI form if the overpayment wasn't your fault and repaying it would be a genuine hardship. Not a guaranteed thing but it's available.

Two separate things in one call - the pending status and the severance question. That's exactly the kind of clarity I'd want. CalJOBS being the hold-up makes sense given what someone else mentioned earlier in this thread.

Yeah it turned out to be simple once I got someone on the phone. The CalJOBS registration took me maybe 15 minutes once I actually did it and the pending weeks resolved quickly after.

I set up direct deposit when I first applied. Assuming the severance situation resolves cleanly, how soon after my first certification should I expect to see the first payment?

About 24 hours after you certify online if everything is processed and no issues are flagged. Payment status updates daily in UI Online under Payments, and you can also check the 1-866-333-4606 line which runs 24 hours a day.

The 'wait until it runs out' advice is so common and so wrong. The claim starts on the Sunday you apply - nothing about receiving severance changes that start date.

Exactly. And the benefit year only lasts 52 weeks from when you file. Every week you delay filing is a week you're burning off your benefit year with nothing to show for it.

I'm going to lose my health coverage at end of next month so this is actually timely. I'll look into Covered California - didn't realize EDD's site linked to those resources.

BenefitsCal is the portal for Medi-Cal in your county. Covered California is for marketplace plans. Both are worth checking given your income is about to change significantly. The 2-1-1 line can also point you to local resources if you need help figuring out what you qualify for.

My layoff was part of a company-wide reduction so I'm hoping there's no question about the reason, but good to know to watch for the DE 4800 just in case.

Straightforward layoffs usually don't trigger an interview but it's not guaranteed. If EDD does schedule one it doesn't mean anything bad is happening - it's just them verifying the facts of the separation with both you and your former employer.

EDD also notifies the last employer when a claim is filed, and the employer has about 10 days to respond. If the employer's account of the separation matches yours there's usually no issue.

Good to know it's not the final word on eligibility. So I could get the DE 429Z with a reasonable weekly amount and still have my actual eligibility decided separately through the process?

Correct. EDD determines eligibility separately from the benefit amount calculation. The DE 429Z just tells you the financial framework. Actual payments start after you've certified and EDD has decided you qualify for the weeks you're claiming.

And if EDD decides you don't qualify for some weeks they mail a Notice of Determination with an Appeal Form. You'd have 30 days from that mailing date to appeal if you disagree with the decision.

The separation between the financial notice and the eligibility decision is something that confuses a lot of people on their first claim. The DE 429Z coming in the mail feels like an approval because it has your name and a dollar amount on it.