What is the purpose of unemployment insurance? California EDD explained

Wait so my employer paid into this and I never knew? I always thought it came out of my check somewhere.

Nothing comes out of your paycheck for unemployment - that deduction on your stub labeled CASDI goes to disability and paid family leave, not UI. Unemployment is fully on the employer side.

The DE 429Z thing confused me too at first. That document just tells you what your claim could pay, not that you've been approved or anything like that. Keep certifying regardless.

So the 26 weeks is the absolute max? No extensions or anything after that?

Extended Benefits exist under state or federal law but only kick in when unemployment rates hit certain thresholds - there are none paying right now. After 26 weeks on a claim, that's the ceiling unless you're in an EDD-approved training program, in which case you can apply for California Training Benefits before your 16th week of benefits.

26 weeks goes faster than you think honestly. Start the job search right away even while payments are coming in.

This is a good way to put it. It also keeps the broader economy from tanking when a lot of people get laid off at once because people can still spend money on basics.

That's actually a pretty interesting way to think about it, never considered the economy angle.

yeah basically it stops a chain reaction where laid off workers stop spending and then businesses lose revenue and lay off more people etc

I already applied online last week. UI Online shows everything as pending still. Is that normal this early?

Pending is normal for the first few weeks - EDD usually takes about three weeks to process a new application and send out the first payment. Keep certifying on schedule even while everything shows pending.

Pending drove me crazy at first. It eventually cleared and the payments for all those weeks came through at once. Just don't stop certifying thinking something is broken.

Does available for work mean I can't take a vacation while certifying? I had a trip planned before the layoff.

Available for work means you have to actually be able to accept a job if one was offered that week. A trip where you couldn't start work if called would be a week you can't honestly certify as available - EDD decides eligibility week by week based on what you report.

Ugh okay so I might have to push the trip. That's annoying but I get it.

Sorry you're going through the same thing. The uncertainty is the worst part honestly.

UI Online just keeps saying pending and the phone line is impossible to get through on. I might just have to wait it out.

Three weeks for a new application is right in the normal range. If it stretches past four or five weeks with no payment and no notice in the mail, that's when it's worth pushing harder to reach EDD directly.

I haven't gotten any notice about CalJOBS yet. Should I just go register on my own now?

EDD's notice (DE 8405) will tell you if you're required to register and gives you the deadline. Some claimants aren't required to - EDD will say so. You can set up a CalJOBS profile early if you want but wait to see if the DE 8405 arrives so you know the deadline you're working with.

Got my DE 8405 about a week and a half after applying. Went ahead and registered in CalJOBS right away and uploaded a resume. Better to get it done than let the 21 days sneak up on you.

Unpaid waiting week meaning I won't get paid for the first week at all?

Right, every claim has one unpaid week built in. It doesn't reduce what your claim can pay total, it's just a one-week hold at the start. You still certify for it, it just comes back as zero payment for that week.

This tripped me up too. I thought something was wrong when the first week showed $0. It's normal.

That's actually the economic theory behind it and it's correct. The UI system is designed to give workers enough stability to find appropriate reemployment rather than desperation hires.

Makes sense. I'd hate to have to grab the first thing available just to survive if it's completely wrong for my skills.

Does that mean I could do some freelance work on the side while collecting? Or does any self-employment income end benefits?

Self-employment income is on EDD's list of things to report when you certify, same as regular wages. Report it for the week you earned it and EDD applies the same partial earnings formula. Full-time self-employment is a different situation - that affects availability for work, which EDD would evaluate.

Good to know. I do occasional weekend handyman stuff and was wondering if I had to report that.

I didn't even think about health coverage after the layoff. I have about a month left on the employer plan before it ends.

COBRA keeps that group plan going after coverage ends but it can be expensive since you're paying the full premium now. Covered California is worth comparing. Losing job-based coverage is a qualifying life event so you can enroll outside the normal open enrollment window.

BenefitsCal is also where you apply for Medi-Cal. Depending on income, that might end up being zero cost. Worth running through the application to see what you qualify for.

Okay so I got the DE 429Z last week and my roommate also told me I was approved lol. Good to know that's not what it means.

Really common mix-up. The DE 429Z showing a weekly amount just means EDD calculated what your wages support - eligibility for a layoff situation is usually straightforward but EDD still has to make that determination. Keep certifying and watch for mail.

For a straight layoff situation would there even be a reason EDD might deny it?

Layoffs are the cleanest situation - out of work through no fault of your own is exactly what the system covers. Denials are more common when someone quit or was fired, because those involve more investigation. For a mass layoff like yours, the main things that could cause a delay are identity verification or if something looks off in the wage records.

My claim has an interview scheduled because apparently my former employer disputed something. I didn't quit or get fired, I was let go in a reduction. Waiting on that DE 4800 notice to arrive.

Interesting, I had no idea EDD knew about mass layoffs ahead of time. Wonder if that speeds anything up.

It can help with wage verification sometimes because EDD may already have the employer record. Doesn't guarantee faster processing but it's not uncharted territory for them.

Yeah I was making around $28 an hour so $450 a week is going to be a pretty big drop. But like I said, something is better than nothing.

at $28/hr you were probably hitting that $450 ceiling anyway since the max is $450 regardless of how high your wages were above a certain point

Use the Unemployment Benefit Calculator on EDD's site to see your estimate before the DE 429Z arrives. Plug in your quarterly earnings and it gives you a pretty accurate picture.

Oh I had no idea UI benefits were taxable at all. I need to think about whether to do the withholding.

10 percent federal withholding is the only option EDD offers - you can't choose a different percentage. If your overall income for the year is low enough you might owe nothing anyway, but withholding as you go avoids the guesswork.

I skipped withholding my first time on UI and owed a small amount in April. Not devastating but annoying. Second time I turned it on from the start.

My DE 4800 arrived yesterday. The interview is next Thursday at 10am. I'm nervous because I don't know what they're going to ask about.

DE 4800 lists the specific questions EDD plans to cover, so read it carefully before Thursday. Have your records handy - last day worked, what you were told about the layoff, any documentation you have. For a layoff it's usually pretty short.

There's a note that my employer checked 'lack of work' as the separation reason so hopefully that means it's just a formality.

What counts as an overpayment situation for a straightforward layoff with no work on the side?

For a pure layoff with no other income, overpayments are rare. They usually happen when someone didn't report part-time earnings, or when the base period wage calculation gets corrected later and comes out lower than EDD initially used. The other common one is certifying as available when you weren't - like working full time somewhere but still certifying.

I haven't done any work since the layoff but I'll make sure I'm reporting everything accurately if that changes.

Does that work for interview scheduling questions too? My DE 4800 has a time but I need to change it and I can't get through on the phone.

Changing an interview date has to be done at least one day before - EDD can only offer open slots so there's no guarantee of a new time. Phone is the main way to request it. If you need to get through quickly before that deadline, that service is worth trying.

They gave us two weeks of severance. I was actually wondering if that would mess up the claim.

File and report it on your certification as EDD asks. The agent or the determination will make clear how it's treated. Waiting on filing because of severance is a common mistake that costs people weeks of benefits they can't get back.

Had a similar situation and my payments started without issue. Reported the severance as EDD asked when I certified and it worked out fine. The claim start date is the Sunday of the week you apply so every week you delay costs you.

I'll set up direct deposit now. Is there any reason to keep the card instead?

Both options work fine. Some people keep the card because it separates their UI money from their regular bank account, makes it easier to track. No difference in speed officially.

i use direct deposit, money usually there within 24 hours of certifying online. works well for me

ID.me is the identity verification EDD uses now? I applied online but I'm not sure if I did that step or not.

If you applied through UI Online, the ID.me step usually happens right in that flow. If anything was unclear or skipped, pending weeks in Claim History with no explanation is often the sign that identity verification is still open. Worth checking your email for anything from ID.me.

Had the same ID.me confusion. If you verified during the application you're usually fine - the pending status tends to clear within a week or two of that step going through.

No pension for me, I'm 31. But useful to know for the future.

Even if you have no pension now, the Social Security clarification helps people who pick up retirement income partway through a claim. Good info to have in the thread.

Base period math is confusing to me still. So the most recent quarter isn't always the one they use?

Standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed - that fifth most recent completed quarter gets left out in the standard calculation. The alternate base period uses the last four completed quarters, but EDD only applies it automatically when the standard one doesn't have enough wages to make a valid claim at all. It doesn't bump up a weekly amount on a claim that already qualifies.

That's exactly what the agent explained in my situation. My big quarter was that excluded fifth quarter so my weekly amount was lower than I expected, but the claim was still valid so the alternate base period wasn't going to change anything.