Must my husband report 4-hour mandatory meeting pay while on EDD partial benefits?

YES - he absolutely needs to report those 4 hours and the wages earned when he certifies. EDD requires reporting ALL work and earnings during the certification period, even if it's just a meeting. He should report the day he worked (Friday) and the gross wages (before taxes) for those 4 hours. The good news is that it probably won't eliminate his benefits completely for that week - EDD will just reduce the weekly benefit amount based on what he earned. Make sure he keeps track of the exact amount paid for those 4 hours.

yep gotta report it. my wife had same thing happen. they only care bout the total $$ not the hours really. its all about how much u made that week affects ur benefit amnt

As others have said, he must report both the hours worked and the wages earned. California EDD has a specific formula for partial benefits: the first $25 or 25% of your earnings (whichever is greater) won't count against your benefits. The remaining amount reduces your weekly benefit dollar for dollar. For example, if his weekly benefit amount is $450 and he earns $100 at the meeting, EDD would exclude $25 of that, meaning only $75 would be deducted from his benefits. So he'd receive $375 in benefits that week instead of $450. Failing to report work hours or earnings can result in an overpayment determination later, which you'd have to pay back - plus possible penalties if they determine it was intentional misreporting.

I was in this EXACT situation last year and didnt report a safety meeting because i thought it didnt count since it wasnt "real work" and EDD hit me with a false statement penalty and i lost benefits for 5 WEEKS!! DONT MAKE MY MISTAKE! Report EVERYTHING no matter how small it seems!!!!!

From personal experience, the most stressful part of partial unemployment is actually reaching someone at EDD if you have questions like this. When my construction work slowed down, I had similar questions about reporting odd jobs and meetings. I spent over a week trying to get through on their phone lines with no luck. I finally used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km or check their website claimyr.com - totally worth it for peace of mind on complex questions like this. The EDD rep confirmed I needed to report everything, and gave me specific guidance for my situation.

Not to complicate things but does your husband get paid different rates for meeting time vs actual work time? My union contract has different pay scales for meetings vs job site work. If he gets a different rate for meetings vs regular work make sure he reports the ACTUAL amount for those 4 hours not his normal hourly rate!! The system is so confusing sometimes!!!!

why is edd so confusng with there rules????? i swear they try 2 make it hard on purpose so people mess up and they can deny benefits smh

One other important detail - when he certifies, make sure he answers "Yes" to the question "Did you work or earn money, WHETHER YOU WERE PAID OR NOT?" for the week containing that Friday meeting. Then he'll enter Friday's date, the number of hours (4), and the gross amount he'll be paid. The system will prompt him through all the necessary information.