What are the two types of unemployment taxes affecting my California EDD benefits?

Oh wow I had no idea both of those existed. So FUTA goes federal and SUTA/SUI stays in California to fund my actual EDD weekly payments? That makes a lot more sense now. Does the amount my former employer paid into SUTA affect my benefit amount directly?

This is correct. The SUTA rate varies by employer based on their 'experience rating' — basically how many former employees have claimed UI against them. Companies with high turnover pay higher SUTA rates into EDD. But your individual weekly benefit amount is calculated from YOUR wages, not from what your specific employer paid in.

yeah my boss used to complain about the unemployment tax rate going up every time someone quit and filed a claim lol, makes sense now why he was always so weird about layoffs

I definitely was confusing SDI with UI funding, thank you for clarifying that. So when I see SDI deductions on my old paystubs that was for disability insurance not unemployment?

YES this confused me SO much when I first filed. I kept thinking my SDI contributions would affect my UI amount and they have nothing to do with each other. EDD really should explain this better on their website.

sdI is separate program entirely. you can actually collect BOTH ui and SDI in some situations but theyre funded completely differently

My claim has been pending for about 10 days now, I'll definitely check that out. Did they help you understand why your claim was pending or just connect you to an agent?

I've heard of Claimyr but wasn't sure if it was legit. Did it actually work for getting through to EDD? I've been on hold for literal hours multiple times this week.

Yeah they connected me to a real EDD agent who could actually look at my claim. The agent told me there was a small issue with my base period wages being reported incorrectly by my former employer and I never would have found that out just waiting for the portal to update.

This is incredibly helpful context. So the 'experience rating' thing means companies that lay people off more often pay higher SUTA rates into EDD? That's actually a really logical system.

Exactly right. It creates a financial incentive for employers to maintain stable workforces. Though in practice large corporations just factor it into their cost of doing business and lay people off anyway when they need to cut costs.

worked in payroll for 12 years the experience rating system makes sense in theory but in practice the rates dont move fast enough to actually deter layoffs at big companies

interesting stuff but does any of this affect OP getting their pending claim resolved? like practically speaking

Three weeks pending without any contact is definitely concerning. Have you checked your UI Online inbox for any notices? Sometimes EDD sends eligibility questionnaires or requests for additional information that show up there before they call or mail you.

I check UI Online every single day and there's nothing in my inbox, no notices, no requests for information, nothing. Just the same pending status. I've also checked my physical mail obsessively. It's like my claim disappeared into a void.

This sounds like exactly when Claimyr would help you — claimyr.com got me through to an EDD agent when I was in a similar situation. When there are no notices but claim is just stuck pending, sometimes there's a backend flag that only an agent can see and clear. Worth checking out that video demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10

Also make sure your contact information in UI Online is completely up to date. Sometimes claims get stuck because EDD attempted to contact a claimant and the phone number on file was wrong or disconnected.

I made the same assumption! I was looking through all my old paystubs trying to find an unemployment tax deduction line and couldn't find it. Now I understand why — it's the employer paying separately, not a deduction from my wages.

So many people get confused about this. EDD's website actually has a decent explanation of the difference but you have to dig to find it.

yeah the EDD website has the info but it's not exactly easy to navigate when you're stressed and just trying to understand if you even qualify for benefits

This is accurate. The fund insolvency issue is real and California employers have faced FUTA credit reduction as a result, meaning they effectively pay higher federal unemployment taxes when California owes the federal government UI trust fund loans. It's a whole complicated situation.

wait so california employers are paying MORE taxes right now because of this? does that affect anything for people currently filing claims?

It doesn't affect individual claimant benefit amounts — your weekly benefit amount is still calculated from your base period wages the same way. It's more of a burden on employers and state finances than on individual claimants directly.

This is really useful to know. I'm going to try harder to reach an EDD agent before assuming my claim is fine. How did you finally manage to get through on the phone?

Combination of things — tried very early morning calls and also used Claimyr which someone here mentioned. The Claimyr approach at claimyr.com actually worked better and faster than my 8am calling attempts. Connected me to a real person who could pull up my claim details.

Okay I'm going to actually try Claimyr today. Three weeks of pending status and radio silence from EDD, I need to just get someone on the phone and find out what's going on.

Good addition. The reimbursable employer option is actually important to know if you worked for a nonprofit or government agency because your former employer might push back harder on your claim or contest eligibility more aggressively since they pay per claim rather than into a pooled fund.

I worked for a regular private company so I think I'm in the standard system but that's really good to know for anyone who came from a nonprofit or government job.

oh interesting, so government workers filing EDD claims could face more scrutiny on their claims because their employer pays directly instead of into the general fund? that seems stressful

This is reassuring because I wasn't sure if my former employer could just tell EDD not to pay me. Good to know EDD makes the actual determination.

this happened to me, my employer contested my claim saying i was fired for cause but EDD determined i was laid off and approved me anyway. employers dont run the show, EDD does

Correct — and the burden of proof is actually on the employer if they claim you were terminated for misconduct. EDD will give you an opportunity to present your side during any adjudication review.

SO important for people to know this. I almost didn't file because my former employer threatened to contest my claim and I thought that meant I wouldn't get approved. Filed anyway and got approved no problem.

Same honestly, I think most people just file and hope for the best without understanding the funding mechanism. It doesn't really change the process for claimants but it's interesting to understand.

knowing this stuff doesn't really help you get your money faster but it does help you understand why the system works the way it does I guess

From an eligibility standpoint, no — individual claimant eligibility is evaluated the same way whether you were part of a mass layoff or an individual separation. The employer's experience rating affects how much tax they pay going forward, not whether their former employees qualify for benefits.

What DOES change in a mass layoff situation is sometimes EDD has special WARN Act notice requirements and there can be additional protections or faster processing. But the core UI eligibility criteria are the same.

okay that makes sense, thanks. I was in a mass layoff situation and was worried there might be extra hurdles but sounds like it's the same process

Update: I tried Claimyr this morning after reading this thread and it actually worked. Got through to an EDD agent who found that there was an identity verification hold on my account from when I first filed. She walked me through getting it resolved. Three weeks of pending status explained and hopefully resolved in one phone call.

So glad that worked out for you! And this is making me think I should proactively call about my pending claim rather than just waiting.

okay claimyr skeptic here turning into a believer based on this thread lol. might try it for my situation

Good point — the federal extended benefits program is funded through FUTA and the federal trust fund, which is why when California's own SUTA fund runs low, federal extended benefits can still potentially be available. The two-tier system provides some redundancy and backup.

This is all really helpful context. My original question was pretty basic but I feel like I understand the whole UI funding system much better now after this thread.

Tell your partner to get their documents ready just in case — recent paystubs, employment dates, separation documentation. Having that ready makes the initial EDD claim filing much smoother.

and tell them not to wait to file if it happens. file as soon as possible because your benefit year start date affects which wages count toward your base period calculation

really good advice, thank you both. going to have them read through this thread

This is great news! Wage reporting discrepancies seem to be a really common cause of pending delays based on this thread. I'm going to double-check my own reported wages against my paystubs.

Wage discrepancies between employer-reported wages and what shows up in the EDD system are more common than people realize, especially if you had irregular hours, bonuses, or worked for multiple employers during your base period. Worth verifying before you file if possible.

So glad you got an answer! This is exactly why getting through to an actual human agent is worth the effort — the online portal just shows you a status code with no explanation of what's actually causing a delay.

Thanks for the update, really helpful to know this resolved. Hope everyone else with pending claims gets their situations sorted soon too.