What do you need to get unemployment in California EDD?

The 18 months of employers part caught me off guard. I had a gap temp job about 14 months ago and wasn't sure if I needed to include it - sounds like I should.

Yeah include everything in that window. EDD uses those wages to figure out your weekly amount, so more complete info is better for you.

Also have your last employer's full mailing address ready, not just the company name. I got stuck on that because the store had a corporate HQ that was different from where I actually worked.

Wait is ID.me mandatory now? I applied like two years ago and don't remember doing that step at all.

ID.me is EDD's current identity verification method, yeah. It's the step that happens after you submit the application online. Phone and mail applicants can get the DE 1326C instead.

The ID.me part took me forever because my driver's license photo kept coming out blurry on my phone. Used better lighting and it finally worked on the fourth try.

The CalJOBS thing - is that something everyone has to do? Nobody mentioned it when I applied.

EDD sends a notice called the DE 8405 if you're required to register. You have 21 days from that notice date to get your CalJOBS profile and resume up. Missing it can hold up payments, so worth checking if you got that in the mail.

Had the same pending situation and also ended up talking to an agent - the wage matching delay is really common for people who were with large retail chains. Good to know what to tell people to look for.

Reduction in hours before a full layoff is still a layoff situation as far as EDD is concerned - you didn't quit and you weren't fired for misconduct. Just describe what happened accurately. If your hours were cut drastically before the final termination, some people also file when hours drop significantly, not just at full termination.

So I could have filed when they cut my hours down to like 8 a week? I didn't know that was even an option.

Yeah EDD isn't just for full unemployment - partial unemployment when hours are cut is covered too. The weekly benefit amount gets reduced by what you earn that week, but you can still get something.

That's honestly frustrating to learn now. I went three weeks on those cut hours thinking I had to wait until it was fully over.

Wait so you lose a week of money? That seems wrong.

You don't lose it from your total - the waiting week just doesn't get paid, but it doesn't reduce how many weeks you can collect overall. Your max benefit amount is still based on 26 times your weekly rate.

Good to know before I get there. So my first certification will cover two weeks but only one actually pays out - that's the thing to expect.

For the initial application you're listing employers you worked for - gig or project work where you were self-employed might have been 1099 income, which has different treatment. EDD's application covers W-2 employment primarily. But once you're on a claim and certifying, you have to report any money you earn that week from any work including freelance, every time you certify.

So I report it during weekly certifications but maybe not on the initial application if it was self-employment? That's a distinction I would have completely missed.

Also just to add - certifying is every two weeks in California, not weekly like some other states people might have dealt with before. Easy thing to assume wrong.

This is exactly the kind of thing I hit. The address on my final check was a corporate suite in another city, not our actual store address. Which one should I have used?

Use whatever address is on your pay stubs or W-2 - that's the employer's official record address for tax purposes and what EDD will match. If you used the wrong one it's not fatal, EDD can sort it out.

Yep the EIN thing - I also thought I needed it and spent like 20 minutes looking through old tax paperwork. Total non-issue.

Quitting doesn't automatically disqualify you but EDD needs you to show you had a good reason - their standard is basically whether a reasonable person would have quit under those same circumstances. A major office relocation that triples your commute is exactly the kind of thing people bring to the phone interview and sometimes get approved for. EDD decides after hearing both sides.

Ughhh I wish I'd known this. I just assumed quitting meant no benefits and never even tried.

Same - I quit a toxic job a few years ago thinking I had zero shot. Talked to someone later who said I might have had a case with the working conditions. Always worth at least applying.

Four weeks is unfortunately pretty standard for a first payment - EDD says about three weeks to process a new application and get the first payment out. Add in the waiting week and the two-week certification cycle and four weeks isn't unusual at all. Doesn't mean anything was wrong.

I was so convinced something had gone wrong because nobody told me to expect that. I called multiple times thinking there was an issue.

Four weeks feels like forever when you've got rent coming. I had the same panic.

Good heads up for me since I just applied. Setting expectations now so I don't spiral in week three thinking I did something wrong.

EDD doesn't say either one is faster than the other officially. What they do say is payment info updates daily in UI Online and on the Tele-Cert phone line. I wouldn't switch methods chasing speed - both generally clear within a day or two of certifying.

Fair enough, I'll stop overthinking it. Direct deposit is fine then.

EDD looks at your earnings over a 'base period' - basically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed. They find the quarter where you earned the most and use that to set your weekly amount. The range is $40 to $450 a week. EDD also has a calculator on their site where you can plug in your wages and get an estimate - worth running before your award notice comes so you're not shocked.

So if I got a big raise in my most recent quarter that might not even count because it's the most recent one that gets skipped?

That's exactly right for most claims - the most recent quarter often falls outside the standard base period. EDD automatically checks an alternate calculation if your wages don't support a valid claim under the standard method, but it doesn't get used just to bump up a higher amount.

That feels like a loophole that eats money. But okay, at least I know the number on the DE 429Z is the official word.

What is CalJOBS even for? Like is it connected to your EDD account or is it totally separate?

Separate site, separate login. It's basically a state job board and resume database. EDD can see whether you've registered. Some people find actual job leads through it too, though results vary.

I had no idea about the 21-day window on this until someone in another thread mentioned it. EDD buries this requirement.

Your coworker has this backwards. Getting fired doesn't automatically disqualify someone. EDD makes the employer prove there was actual misconduct - things like intentionally breaking company rules, not just making a mistake or being bad at the job. EDD decides after interviewing both sides. Plenty of people who were fired get approved.

I'll tell him to just apply. Assuming the worst without trying doesn't help anyone.

Yeah the 'you can't get it if you were fired' myth stops a lot of people from even trying. Always file and let EDD decide.

Federal taxes, yes - unemployment counts as taxable income on your federal return. California state tax though, no - California exempts unemployment benefits from state income tax. You can opt in to have 10 percent withheld for federal taxes each time you certify. Worth doing so you're not hit with a bill in April.

I did not know you could withhold right at certification. That would have saved me a headache. Turning that on now.

The 1099G is also in UI Online under Payments if you need a copy - EDD posts it there by January 31st each year.

Part-time work absolutely counts toward unemployment eligibility. The minimum to qualify is having at least $1,300 in your highest quarter during the base period, or $900 in the highest quarter with your total wages being 1.25 times that. Part-time hours over 18 months can clear that threshold pretty easily.

I did qualify, got $180 a week. Not much but it covered groceries and utilities while I looked for something new.

This is reassuring because I was also wondering if retail wages were 'enough' wages. Sounds like EDD cares about the dollar amounts not the job type.

Unemployment has nothing to do with credit reports or background checks. It's not a loan, it's not a debt. Tell your cousin to apply - there's literally no downside to applying and finding out you don't qualify vs not applying and potentially missing money you're entitled to.

That's what I figured but couldn't tell him confidently. Good to have it confirmed.

The severance question is exactly something I need to ask too. Mine was a small store closure so I got a little severance. So it doesn't delay when benefits start?

That's what the agent told me for my situation - severance under a company policy doesn't delay the claim, though you do still report it when you certify because EDD asks about all pay. Your situation might vary so worth confirming with EDD.

The disconnect-right-when-you-get-to-the-front thing is so real. That happened to me twice in one morning last year.

Can you fix a certification after you've already submitted it?

You can't edit a submitted certification through UI Online. You'd contact EDD directly - there's a message option in your UI Online account - and explain the error. Getting ahead of it looks a lot better than waiting.

Report Wages in UI Online is useful before you certify - you can check how wages will affect that week's payment before hitting submit on the actual certification.

Oh I had no idea that was a separate tool. That would have helped me a few times.

EDD's requirement is to register and post the resume so it's searchable - a private resume might not satisfy the posting requirement since the whole point is to make yourself findable by employers. Worth switching it to public just to be safe.

Switching it now. I didn't want random employers finding me but I guess that's literally the point.

Had the exact same confusion. CalJOBS has an option to make it visible to employers but not recruiters - that middle ground might work if full public feels uncomfortable.

Processed status usually means it's on its way - Money Network typically posts within about a day of that status updating. If it's been more than two or three days since it showed processed, then yes it makes sense to call EDD or check through the payment info line at 1-866-333-4606, which runs 24 hours.

It flipped to processed yesterday so I'll give it one more day before worrying. Thanks.

The 24-hour payment info line is underused. Saved me a bunch of hold time on the main line just checking payment status.

If you go back to full-time work you stop certifying for that week - full-time employment ends your eligibility for those weeks. If your benefit year is still open and you later lose that job, you reopen your existing claim rather than starting a brand new one. UI Online is the fastest way to reopen it.

That reopening thing is good to know. I assumed starting over meant going through the whole new application process again.

This whole thread answered basically every question I had going in. The store closure was my first time ever dealing with EDD and I was completely lost. Feel a lot more prepared now for what's coming.

Retail closures hit so many people at once and EDD's instructions on the site really aren't written for first-timers. Glad the thread helped.