Is unemployment paid by the employer or the government in California EDD?

Okay that actually makes so much more sense. So when my employer contests my claim during adjudication, they're basically trying to protect their future tax rate?

Exactly right. The adjudication process is where California EDD investigates whether you qualify — and if your employer successfully argues you were fired for misconduct rather than laid off, they avoid having that claim counted against their experience rating. It's a financial incentive for them to dispute borderline cases.

I had no idea employers had a financial stake in this. My old company contested my claim and I thought they were just being vindictive lol. Now it makes more sense why they bothered.

Does this mean my weekly benefit amount is affected by what my employer paid in? Or is it based on my own wages?

Your weekly benefit amount is calculated from YOUR wages during the base period — the 12 months before your claim. Nothing to do with how much your specific employer contributed to the fund. California EDD uses a formula based on your highest earning quarter.

yeah its based on ur wages not the employer contribution, i learned that the hard way when i expected more lol

This is actually really reassuring. I was lowkey worried my old employer would be directly impacted dollar for dollar and I felt guilty about it.

Totally normal feeling but don't let it stop you from claiming what you're entitled to. You lost your job through no fault of your own — that's exactly what the UI system is designed for.

Same, I felt terrible filing at first. The guilt is real but yeah you earned this basically through the whole employment relationship

Five weeks sounds absolutely brutal. Did you have to pay bills during that whole time with nothing coming in? And I'll look into Claimyr — I'm nervous my employer might dispute since they've been vague about whether it's a layoff or 'position elimination

I had to borrow money from my sister honestly. It was awful. And yes, the distinction between 'layoff' and 'position elimination' shouldn't matter — both should qualify for UI — but if your employer characterizes it differently in their response to EDD, it can trigger adjudication. Get any written documentation of your separation that you can.

Claimyr saved me during my overpayment dispute last year too. Couldn't get anyone on the phone for weeks and then got through in like an hour using that service. Worth it.

The EDD website is genuinely terrible for finding this kind of basic info. The claimant-facing pages assume you already know the system. It's designed for people who already know what they're looking for.

exactly!! like i just wanted to know one basic thing and ended up reading about tax schedules for businesses lmao

The edd website is a maze. I click one thing and end up on some 1998 looking page about employer registration. It's so disorganized.

Thank you for the clear summary. One more question — if my employer doesn't contest, does my claim just automatically get approved or does California EDD still review it?

EDD still reviews every claim. They check your wage records, verify the separation reason, and confirm you meet eligibility requirements like being able and available to work and actively seeking employment. Non-contested claims just tend to move through the process faster because there's no employer rebuttal to investigate.

mine was approved in 9 days with no contest from my former employer so yeah, it can go pretty quick

You're right that there's a deduction — but that's SDI (State Disability Insurance) and in 2024 California expanded it. The UI (unemployment insurance) portion is funded entirely by employers, not employees. So your paycheck deduction you're seeing is the SDI contribution, not UI. Easy to mix up because they're both EDD programs.

ohhhh okay that makes sense. So SDI comes from employees but UI comes from employers. Got it. I've been confusing these two for years honestly

Super common confusion. SDI and UI are both under California EDD's umbrella but funded completely differently. SDI = employee funded. UI = employer funded. Two separate programs, one agency.

I literally didn't know this until reading this thread right now lol

Four months is terrifying. Did you have any income during that whole period? I'm already worried about a potential dispute and I'm only two weeks in.

I had some savings and picked up occasional gig work. The appeals process is long but winnable — especially if the employer's story doesn't match documentation. Make sure you request all the communication between your employer and EDD through the records request process if you end up appealing.

this is why i tell everyone to screenshot everything, every email, every communication from your employer before you leave. Future you will thank present you

Yeah I've been making sure to certify on time. How strict is the job search requirement exactly? I've heard you need a certain number of contacts per week?

California EDD currently requires you to make a minimum of one employer contact per week while claiming benefits, but practically speaking keeping a detailed log of your search activities protects you if they ever audit your claim. Document the employer name, position, date, and how you applied for each contact.

The one-contact minimum is the floor but some people in specific circumstances can get standby status which waives the job search requirement if you have a definite return-to-work date. Doesn't sound like that applies here but worth knowing it exists.

This is a really valuable insider perspective. The experience rating system creates genuinely perverse incentives — employers sometimes contest claims they know they'll lose just to delay or discourage claimants from pursuing them.

Exactly. The cost of contesting is low for the employer (just paperwork and phone calls) but the cost to the claimant of going through adjudication with no income is extremely high. It's an asymmetric situation.

Which is why being able to actually reach someone at EDD during adjudication matters so much. When I used Claimyr to finally get through to an EDD agent, I found out my employer had submitted their dispute response and I needed to provide a written rebuttal within 10 days. I would have completely missed that deadline if I hadn't gotten through.

That's a really important point. So you can miss critical deadlines just because you can't get information from EDD? That seems really unfair.

It's the wages from the base period that matter, not necessarily the length of employment with one employer. The base period is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. EDD looks at your total wages across all employers in that period.

oh interesting so if i had two jobs in that period they both count?

Yes, all covered employment wages during the base period are combined to calculate your weekly benefit amount. California EDD will pull wage records from all employers you had in that period.

Good point about the trust fund solvency issue. California's UI trust fund has had solvency problems and employers have faced higher federal tax rates (FUTA credit reduction) as a result of the outstanding federal loan. It affects employers but doesn't impact individual claimants' benefit amounts directly.

Right, claimants aren't affected directly but it does mean employer UI tax burdens in California are higher than in states with solvent trust funds. Which arguably affects hiring decisions at the margin, but that's getting pretty abstract from the original question lol

I did not come to an unemployment forum to learn about macroeconomics but here I am lol

That's a good sign and will likely speed up your claim, but EDD still independently verifies your eligibility. You still need to meet all the requirements — able and available to work, actively seeking employment, earned sufficient wages in the base period, etc. Non-contested just means smoother, not guaranteed.

okay phew. and if they said it as 'company policy' is that binding? like could they still change their mind?

Technically yes, they could still respond to an EDD inquiry with information that triggers adjudication even without formally 'contesting.' But an employer who stated non-contest policy is less likely to complicate things. Get that statement in writing if you can — email confirmation of the layoff and their non-contest stance would be valuable.

I've already bookmarked this for if I need it. Two weeks in and so far I haven't needed to call but if adjudication starts I want to be prepared.

Same experience here. The 'call at 8am' tip just means you're competing with hundreds of other people doing the exact same thing. Claimyr worked differently and I was actually grateful for it.

gonna check that out. been trying to reach edd about a different issue for a week and cant get through at all

Glad it was helpful! The experience rating incentive structure is something EDD should really explain better in their claimant materials because it directly affects how claimants should expect the process to go.

100% agree. Knowing that info upfront would have made me less blindsided when the contest came in.

Perfect summary, thank you. Really appreciate everyone's input on this thread. Feeling a lot less confused now.

bookmarking this whole thread honestly

same this is a good one

Great question. The UI Trust Fund is a pooled government fund, so your individual employer's financial situation or bankruptcy doesn't affect your ability to claim benefits. You're not collecting from your specific employer's contributions — you're drawing from the state fund. EDD has separate processes for pursuing delinquent employer tax contributions but that happens on the employer side, not the claimant side.

okay that's a huge relief to tell my friend. They were worried they wouldn't be able to claim because the company went under.

Yeah this is actually one of the advantages of the pooled fund model over a system where employers would directly pay their own former employees. The bankruptcy protection for claimants is a real benefit.

Good tip. I did have one quarter where I took some time off between jobs so my wages were lower. I'll watch out for that in the calculation.

Exactly that kind of thing can affect the calculation. If the base period doesn't capture your best earning period you might qualify for an alternate base period calculation — worth asking about if the amount seems lower than expected.

The alternate base period option is underutilized and a lot of claimants don't know it exists. It uses the four most recently completed quarters instead of the standard base period. Can make a significant difference if your employment situation changed recently.