What is the main cause of unemployment? California EDD claimants share their stories

Three times is rough, I'm sorry. Did the adjudication hold on your second claim ever get explained? I'm currently sitting at week 4 with no movement on mine and no explanation.

yeah layoffs are def the main thing. my whole department got eliminated when they moved operations overseas. filed with california edd same week

This is really helpful context. My situation was a clear-cut layoff so I'm confused why I'm in adjudication. Does California EDD flag certain industries or company sizes for extra review?

constructive dismissal is SO real and so hard to prove to California EDD. I went through that nightmare. my manager made my life impossible until I quit and then EDD initially denied me saying I quit voluntarily. had to appeal the whole thing

Yes California EDD does sometimes flag mass layoff events for additional verification, especially when many claims come in from the same employer at once. They want to verify the layoff was legitimate. Your employer also has to confirm the separation reason and if there's any discrepancy between what you said and what they reported, that triggers a deeper adjudication review.

Wait this is actually useful info - I've been trying to call California EDD for two weeks and can't get through to anyone. Does Claimyr work for regular claim status questions or only specific issues?

It worked for me just to ask about my adjudication status and what was causing the hold. The agent I reached was actually able to add notes to my file which I think helped move things along. Definitely worth trying if you can't get through the normal way.

gonna try this. been calling for 3 weeks straight and keep getting the system is experiencing high call volume message then it disconnects me

as someone in HR this is really interesting perspective. do you see a lot of cases where employees get mis-categorized and it causes problems with their EDD claims?

Yes unfortunately more than I'd like. Sometimes managers code a termination incorrectly in the HR system - like marking it as a resignation when it was actually a layoff - and the employee finds out when California EDD contacts them about a discrepancy. Always recommend employees double-check their separation paperwork before signing anything.

THIS. my previous employer coded my separation wrong and it caused a 5 week adjudication delay. had to get it corrected before edd would approve anything

Not a dumb question at all. Yes you can file for California EDD unemployment if you were laid off from a part-time job. Eligibility is based on your base period earnings, not whether you worked full or part time. You need to have earned enough wages during your base period (typically the 12 months before your claim) to meet the minimum threshold. California EDD will calculate your weekly benefit amount based on your actual earnings.

oh okay that's a relief. i was worried because everywhere i read it seemed like it was only for full time workers. going to file today

definitely file! part timers absolutely qualify. just make sure you report your earnings accurately on your weekly certifications if you pick up any work while claiming

I feel this deeply. The adjudication process feels really opaque - I have no idea what they're reviewing or what additional information they might need from me.

Exactly. And no one tells you anything. You just wait and wait and check your UI Online account 15 times a day hoping something changed. Meanwhile bills don't stop.

The adjudication process exists partly because California EDD has to verify claims to prevent fraud, which unfortunately means legitimate claimants have to wait. If you're in appeal, make sure you're still filing your weekly certifications - missing those while your appeal is pending can complicate things even if you eventually win.

This is actually reassuring to hear. Mine feels like a crisis because it was so unexpected but good to know the system can work smoothly.

Seasonal filers def have it easier with california edd in my observation too. the system seems more set up for predictable patterns

Unfortunately employer misrepresentation happens. The key is documentation - do you have anything in writing from your employer about the layoff? An email announcing the reduction in force, a separation letter, a WARN Act notice if the company was large enough? Any of that documentation can be submitted to California EDD during the adjudication investigation. You can also request a phone interview with the adjudicator to present your side.

I do have an email that went company-wide announcing the layoffs before my last day. I submitted it through UI Online but I don't know if anyone actually reviewed it. Should I try calling California EDD directly?

Definitely try to speak to someone at California EDD directly about this. I mentioned it earlier but Claimyr really helped me get through when I couldn't reach anyone by normal calling. Given what's at stake with a contested claim you really want to actually talk to a rep not just submit documents and hope for the best.

100% this is already happening. A friend got laid off from an accounts payable role and her manager literally told her the company was implementing AI automation to replace that function. She had to fight with California EDD a little because her employer tried to code it as a restructuring rather than a layoff but ultimately got approved.

The California EDD eligibility criteria don't distinguish between WHY a company decided to lay someone off - automation, restructuring, offshoring, budget cuts - what matters is that it was an involuntary separation. So from a UI claim perspective, being replaced by AI is treated the same as being laid off for any other business reason.

This is exactly what I needed to hear - that there can be a fixable explanation behind the adjudication hold. Going to check out Claimyr tonight. Did you get a resolution after that call?

yes! she escalated it internally and my claim approved 3 days later. 7 weeks of stress because of a payroll tax filing timing issue that had nothing to do with me

wow that is wild. so your employer's administrative problem held up YOUR benefits for 7 weeks?? that seems so unfair

Completely unfair but at least it got resolved. The claimyr.com site and that video demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 explains it better than I can - basically it just gets you to an actual human at California EDD which is apparently the hard part

Thank you for sharing this, that takes courage. Glad California EDD recognized the circumstances.

This is an important point. California EDD can consider medical circumstances when evaluating whether a termination was truly for misconduct. If performance issues stem from a documented medical or mental health condition, that can factor into the eligibility determination. Definitely worth explaining fully in any adjudication interview.

Okay this is convincing me to try it. My situation with adjudication might also just need someone to look at it manually.

another claimyr success story lol. starting to think just getting a live person at california edd is the actual solution to most problems

this tracks. I'm in tech and this is my third California EDD claim in 5 years

And agriculture/seasonal workers like me file basically every year. It's almost a feature not a bug at this point

The entertainment industry workers also have really specialized California EDD situations - guild and union members have different base period calculations in some cases. The regular UI rules don't always apply the same way.

This is a really human perspective, thank you. My employer definitely didn't give us any guidance on California EDD which made the whole experience more disorienting.

wish more employers were like you. mine handed us boxes and had security escort us out. no info about edd, no nothing

This depends heavily on your classification. If you were a true independent contractor (1099) then generally you don't qualify for regular California EDD unemployment insurance because you weren't paying into the UI system via payroll taxes. However if you were misclassified as an independent contractor when you should have been an employee under California's AB5 law, you might have a claim. California has pretty strict employee classification rules. Worth filing anyway and letting California EDD make the determination - the worst they can say is no.

i was 1099 the whole time... so probably not eligible then. thats really disappointing

File anyway like the person above said - you never know, and California EDD's classification review process has caught misclassification before. Especially with AB5, California takes contractor misclassification very seriously.

This is so good to hear!! Keeping fingers crossed for you.

Getting that call from an adjudicator is genuinely the turning point. Once they're actively working your case things move.

Great news. The documentation really does matter - glad that email came through for you

Exactly right. California EDD isn't just confirming you don't have a job - they're evaluating the specific circumstances of how you became unemployed, whether it was your choice or your employer's, and whether any disqualifying factors apply. That's why even clear-cut layoffs sometimes get a second look.

This thread has been genuinely helpful for me too. Still waiting on my claim but feel way less in the dark about what's happening and what I can do about it.

THANK YOU for saying this. I had no idea you were supposed to keep certifying during adjudication. Just submitted mine now

Same - I almost stopped certifying because I assumed there was no point while in adjudication. Really glad I didn't and really glad someone said this explicitly.

This should be pinned at the top of every California EDD forum. So many people mess this up.