If I quit my job can I still get unemployment in California EDD?

Did you end up getting approved? That's what I'm most anxious about right now.

EDD sent me a Notice of Determination after the interview and it went in my favor, yeah. The pay cut without warning was a big part of what I brought up.

DE 4800 also lists the specific questions they're likely to ask — not everyone notices that part but it's worth reading the whole notice carefully.

Wait, your employer actively fought the claim? I didn't realize they could do that after a quit.

EDD notifies your last employer when you file. They can respond and give their side within 10 days of the notice they get. EDD then weighs both accounts.

Six weeks of adjudication sounds rough. Mine dragged too — I kept checking Claim History and every week just said Pending with no other info.

I always thought quitting meant automatic denial, glad to see that's not the case. I've been scared to even apply after I left my last job.

Apply as soon as you can — your claim week starts from the Sunday you apply, so waiting just costs you potential weeks.

Is the burden on the employer to prove misconduct or on me to prove my reason was good? I'm confused about how that works for a quit vs a firing.

Different situations honestly. For a firing, EDD expects the employer to show there was misconduct. For a quit, you're the one making the case that your reason was solid. EDD decides after hearing both sides at the interview.

EDD looks at whether the working conditions changed significantly from what you signed on for. A complete flip in scheduling could count — you'd lay that out in the phone interview and EDD decides from there.

Okay that helps, I wasn't sure if 'working conditions' covered schedule stuff or just like physical safety things.

Bring documentation if you have it — texts, emails, anything that shows what your original schedule was versus what it became.

Oh wow I did not know that. I would have definitely thought that was an approval letter.

Yeah it looks official and has numbers on it so I completely misread it at first. The actual eligibility decision comes separately after the interview.

So you have to wait for the interview before any money moves? Even the waiting week doesn't get paid until after?

Right — no payment happens until you've certified, the interview is done, and EDD has decided. The first certification usually covers the waiting week (unpaid) and one paid week.

The DE 4800 notice actually lists the questions they're likely to cover, so you can think through your answers ahead of time. Write down the timeline, the specific incidents, who was involved. Having it in front of you during the call helps a lot.

That's really helpful, I've been dreading it because I'm bad at phone stuff when I'm nervous.

Stick to facts and dates rather than feelings — not because your feelings don't matter, but because 'on March 4th my manager told me my pay was being cut by 12%' lands a lot clearer than 'my boss was just really awful.

Wait you can still appeal even after a denial? I didn't realize that was an option.

30 days from the date on the DE 1080CZ — if you miss it you have to explain why you were late, which is harder. So file fast if it comes to that.

Did you need a lawyer for the hearing?

No — anyone can represent you, or you can go yourself. I did mine solo with the documentation I had. The judge asked questions and I answered under oath, that was it.

I had no idea about CalJOBS, I'll watch for that notice. Do I have to be actively applying for jobs already?

You have to be able to work, available for work, and looking for work for every week you certify. EDD's pages don't set a specific number of applications per week — just that you need to be genuinely searching.

I keep a simple spreadsheet with every job I apply to just out of habit. Easier than trying to reconstruct it later if anyone ever asks.

A significant change in the commute or location of work is exactly the kind of thing to bring up in the interview. Whether it's enough is EDD's call, but it's a real material change to your working conditions — lay it all out factually.

Okay good, I was worried something like a commute change would just sound like a personal problem not EDD's concern.

The key framing is that the job itself changed, not that you changed your mind about working there. Commute doubling because they moved offices is the company's action, not yours.

Pending just means no decision yet — it doesn't mean denied. Used claimyr.com on my second claim and an agent told me my file had been forwarded for a secondary review which explained the extra wait. Knowing that made the pending weeks feel less terrifying.

Nine weeks though. That's two months of zero income.

If you have a UI Online account you can send a message through there too — sometimes that gets a response faster than the phone. Live chat through the Help button in UI Online also works weekdays 9 to 2.

I've been assuming it would go to my bank account — do I need to set that up somewhere specific?

In myEDD at https://myedd.edd.ca.gov/ — there's a payment method option where you can switch to direct deposit or a paper check. Otherwise the default is the Money Network card which they mail you.

Didn't know it defaulted to a card, I need to go change that now.

Does the waiting week count toward the 26 weeks total?

Nope — your 26 weeks of potential benefits aren't affected by the waiting week. It's separate from the benefit total.

Good to know, I was calculating my total assuming all 26 would pay out.

That's not quite right actually. EDD's position is that severance paid under a company plan or policy isn't counted against your unemployment benefits — it doesn't disqualify you or reduce your weekly amount. You still report it when you certify because EDD asks, and EDD makes the final call, but getting severance doesn't stop you from filing.

She's going to be annoyed she waited this long if that's true.

She should apply now — the claim starts from the Sunday of the week she applies, so every week she waits is a week she can't get back.

Part-time work doesn't automatically cancel your claim — you report what you earned for the week you earned it, not when you get paid. The first $25 or 25 percent of what you made that week (whichever is bigger) doesn't count against you, and the rest gets subtracted from your weekly benefit amount. Full-time work ends your eligibility for that week.

So like if my benefit amount was $400 and I earned $200 part time in a week?

EDD's math: take 25% of $200 which is $50, subtract the remaining $150 from your $400 benefit, you'd get $250 for that week.

That's actually way better than I thought. I've been avoiding picking up shifts because I figured it would kill my claim.

EDD mails your last employer a notice when you file and gives them 10 days to respond. So by the time the interview happens, EDD may already have the employer's written version of events. The interview is your chance to give your side directly.

So my employer could have already said stuff before I even get to speak. That feels kind of unfair.

It's why being specific and factual matters so much in the interview — vague answers are easier to contradict than documented facts with dates.

Can you turn the withholding on after you've already started certifying, or does it have to be set at the beginning?

You can change it each certification, it's one of the questions you answer when you certify. So you're not locked in from the start.

I didn't do withholding and owed a chunk at tax time last year. Definitely setting it up from day one this time.

Keep certifying through the appeal — if the judge rules in your favor, EDD can only pay the weeks you actually certified for. If you stop certifying you lose those weeks permanently even if you win.

That's exactly what I needed to know, thank you. I was worried certifying while denied meant I was doing something wrong.

Nothing wrong about it at all — EDD expects claimants to keep certifying during appeals. That's how the back pay gets calculated if you win.

Completely normal — EDD typically takes about three weeks to process a new application and send out the first documents, including the DE 429Z with your weekly benefit amount on it. If you need to verify your identity through ID.me, do that right away so it doesn't add extra time.

Where does the ID.me verification happen? I didn't see anything about it in the application.

EDD sends a Request for Identity Verification (DE 1326C) if they need it — or you can proactively create an ID.me account and verify before they even ask. It just moves things faster if they do need it.

Five weeks of pending with no movement sounds awful — did the interview eventually happen after that?

Yeah, the DE 4800 arrived about a week after I talked to the agent. Interview happened, I explained the situation, and EDD mailed me a determination about two weeks later.

How long does the period between interview and determination usually run?

CalFresh (food assistance) is worth applying for regardless of employment status as long as you meet income requirements — being unemployed doesn't disqualify you, and your county office weighs your situation. Apply through BenefitsCal or call 1-877-847-3663.

I didn't know you could get CalFresh while also getting unemployment — assumed they'd cancel each other out.

Medi-Cal is worth looking into too while you're in the gap. BenefitsCal handles applications for both. Covered California is another option if you need health coverage and want to compare plans.

EDD looks at a 'base period' — the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim starts. All wages from any California employer in that window count, not just the last job. Your highest quarter in that range determines your weekly benefit amount, which runs between $40 and $450. Use the Unemployment Benefit Calculator on EDD's site to get an estimate.

So my higher earnings from that earlier job could actually make my benefit amount better than if they'd only looked at my recent wages?

Exactly — if that full-time job falls inside the base period, those wages count. The DE 429Z you get in the mail will show the actual amount EDD calculated.

That's really useful to know, I was assuming they'd only look at my most recent employer.