If I got terminated can I collect unemployment in California EDD?

Terminations tied to quota changes that nobody could hit is actually one of the stronger positions you can be in for a UI claim. The key thing EDD looks at is whether the employer can prove you did something that crossed a clear line - like a policy violation you knew about and ignored anyway. Missing targets on a system that just got redesigned, especially without any written warnings, is a very different situation from someone who just stopped showing up. You applied already which is good. Expect EDD to send your former employer a notice asking them their side of the story. They have about 10 days to respond. If they respond and there's a question about why you were let go, EDD schedules a phone interview with you too. That's the DE 4800 notice - it shows the date and time the interviewer phones you. Keep that phone nearby at that exact time.

Last employer I had pulled the 'performance issues' label on my separation papers too, so I went looking for ways to actually reach EDD to understand what it meant for my claim. Claimyr (claimyr.com) got me on the phone with a live EDD agent after I'd spent two days getting nowhere with the regular line. The agent pulled up my claim and told me my employer had not yet responded to EDD's notice, and that my pending weeks would stay pending until after the interview was done and EDD made its decision. She also explained exactly what the DE 4800 would say when it arrived. There's a video showing how reaching a live person at EDD by phone works at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 if you want to see it before trying.

Quick flag on something I see misunderstood a lot in these threads: your employer can't simply deny your claim or block your benefits. EDD makes that call, not the company. The employer gives EDD their version of events and EDD weighs it against yours. The burden is on the employer to show there was real misconduct - like a knowing violation of a clear rule - not just that your performance slipped on new targets they introduced.

Week three after my own termination and I was a nervous wreck about all of this. What actually helped me was realizing the phone interview is not the scary thing people make it out to be. The DE 4800 tells you in advance what topics they'll cover, so I just wrote out my honest account of what happened and had my notes in front of me when the interviewer phoned at the time listed on the notice. Stayed calm, answered what they asked, didn't volunteer extra stuff that wasn't asked. Determination came by mail about two weeks after.

Okay but what actually counts as misconduct? Because I feel like every employer just says 'performance issues' to avoid paying out benefits and EDD should see through that by now.

DE 429Z came in the mail about two weeks after I filed, which is the notice showing what your weekly benefit amount would be. That's not a final yes - it just shows what the claim could pay. The real decision on whether you're eligible comes later, after the interview if there is one. I mixed those two things up early on and got really confused thinking I was already approved.

Something nobody mentioned yet - CalJOBS. After you apply, most people get a Notice of Requirement to Register for Work (DE 8405) and you have to register and post a resume on caljobs.ca.gov within 21 days or it can pause your payments. I didn't know about it and missed the deadline. Had to scramble to get it fixed.

EDD phone lines in the morning are honestly brutal. I've hit redial for an hour straight before even getting into the queue. The 8am open is when everyone floods the line. Some people swear by calling right before noon.

Filed after my termination last spring and got approved. For anyone worried: the application asks why you were let go and you just answer honestly. I wrote something like 'terminated, employer cited performance, I dispute that the standard applied fairly.' EDD doesn't expect a legal brief, just your honest account.

My approval letter never came and I panicked thinking I was denied. Turns out there is no approval letter - if EDD decides yes, the payments just start processing for the weeks you certified. A denial is what gets a written notice (the DE 1080CZ). Learned that after a week of unnecessary anxiety.

For the work search piece - once you're certifying, you have to be able and available for work and looking for work each week. EDD's pages don't name a specific number of applications you need. Keep track of where you apply just as a good habit, but the main thing is being genuinely available and looking.

Severance question since it feels related - my company offered two weeks severance and I wasn't sure if taking it would mess up my claim. Turns out EDD says severance paid under a company plan isn't counted as wages for UI purposes, so it doesn't block you from filing right away. You still report it when certifying and EDD handles the math.

The certification schedule is every two weeks, not every week. First time I certified it covered the waiting week and one paid week. The waiting week is just one unpaid week every claim has at the start - doesn't come off the total your claim can pay, it just isn't paid out.

Went back and forth with two people at work about whether I should even bother applying after a termination. One said don't waste your time, the other said apply no matter what. Applied anyway. Got approved. Moral: apply and let EDD decide.

My pending weeks sat there for almost four weeks before anything moved. Called EDD and an agent told me my identity verification through ID.me hadn't fully processed on their end. Got that cleared up and within a few days my Claim History updated. If weeks are pending longer than you expect, it's worth checking whether the ID.me step went through.

The appeal process is worth knowing even before you need it. If EDD sends a DE 1080CZ saying you're disqualified, you have 30 calendar days from the date printed on that notice to file an appeal - either with the DE 1000M form that comes with it or just a written letter mailed to the address on the notice. Keep certifying through the whole appeal so the weeks stay on record.

Benefits are federal taxable income - want to flag that because it surprised me. At each certification you can choose to have 10 percent withheld for federal taxes. EDD doesn't take California state income tax out. I didn't know and ended up with a surprising Form 1099G in January.

Payment posting - once EDD processes your certified weeks, money usually hits the Money Network card pretty fast after you certify online. If you prefer direct deposit you can set that up in myEDD. Payment info updates daily in UI Online under Payments.

Just got my DE 4800 in the mail this morning actually, termination claim. Scheduled for a Thursday morning interview. Used Claimyr to get to an EDD agent last week because my Claim History showed pending on three separate weeks and I needed to know if anything was actually blocking them. The agent looked at my claim and said one of the pending weeks had an open eligibility question tied to my last day of work - the date I listed and what my employer reported didn't match by one day. She said to expect EDD to sort it out at the interview and to make sure I have my last paystub to confirm the actual final day.

The live chat through the Help button in UI Online is another way to reach someone - it's available Monday through Friday 9am to 2pm. I used it to ask about my pending weeks and got a response in about 15 minutes. Faster than the phone on some days.

For the original poster - your situation with the quota change and no written warnings is genuinely a reasonable claim. Document anything you can find: emails about the new quota, any team-wide communications, your own performance records before the change. You don't need a lawyer for the interview but being organized helps.

Benefits wise - once you know your weekly benefit amount from the DE 429Z, the most a claim pays out is 26 weeks worth, or half your total base period wages, whichever is less. EDD uses your highest-paid quarter from the base period to set that weekly amount, somewhere between $40 and $450. If the amount on the DE 429Z looks wrong you can appeal it within 30 days of the mailing date.