Who pays unemployment to employees? Trying to understand how California EDD works

Wait so the CASDI on my paycheck is NOT for unemployment? I've been looking at that line forever thinking that was my unemployment contribution. So I literally have zero dollars set aside from my own pay for this?

Exactly zero from your side. The CASDI pays for SDI and Paid Family Leave programs. Unemployment is funded entirely by employer taxes. You never contributed a dime to it directly, which is actually why some people feel weird saying they 'paid into' unemployment - because they didn't.

the employer pays it, yes, but it still comes from the business costs they factor into what they pay you, so indirectly... anyway the point is you don't see it as a deduction because it doesn't show up that way

I actually did apply online through myEDD the same day this post went up - I just hadn't submitted yet when I wrote this. It's in now. And yes the Sunday start thing is exactly why I rushed to get it done.

good point about the Sunday start date, a lot of people lose a week because they think EDD backdates it to when they lost the job but they dont

The partial benefit thing is actually really helpful to know because I might pick up some side work while I'm waiting. So they don't just cut you off entirely if you earn something?

Right, it's not all or nothing unless you work full time. Part-time or occasional gigs, you just report what you earned for the week you did the work, not when you get paid. The formula keeps you getting something as long as you're not fully employed that week.

i did not know you could keep collecting even with some work on the side, i thought any income at all disqualified you for the week

Full-time work does end eligibility for that week, but part-time hours are different. The person above described the formula correctly - it's not a dollar-for-dollar cut, there's a chunk that doesn't count against your benefit before the deductions kick in.

does that mean my old employer could try to fight my claim to protect their account? I got laid off but they said it was a 'position elimination' which sounds weird

Position elimination is basically a layoff by another name - it means the job no longer exists, not that you did something wrong. EDD decides eligibility, your employer can't just deny your claim. They get notified and can respond, but EDD makes the call.

my employer tried to fight my claim after a layoff and edd still approved me. the employer response doesnt automatically mean you get denied

So my benefit amount is based on what I earned but paid from what my employer contributed? That's a weird combo but it kind of makes sense now.

Exactly. Your wages determine how much EDD will pay you, but the employer's tax payments are what actually funds the system. EDD has a calculator on their site where you can estimate your weekly amount before the official award letter arrives.

the $40 to $450 range seems really low on the high end considering how expensive California is

That analogy actually clicks for me. Way better than how I was thinking about it.

The other thing that helped was understanding that because I didn't pay in myself, there's no account with 'my money' in it - it's a pooled system. Some people get way more out than their former employer put in, some get less, it all evens out across the whole fund.

the confusion is so common because CASDI is right there on your paystub and it looks like it should be connected to unemployment somehow. but its a completely separate program

Exactly, and nobody explains the difference between CASDI, unemployment tax, and workers comp - they all sound like they should be one thing but they're three completely separate programs paid by different people

For anyone confused: unemployment tax is on the employer, CASDI on your stub covers disability and PFL which are on you, workers comp is also employer-paid. Three separate buckets, two out of three are employer costs.

How long did your adjudication take after you knew what was holding it up?

About two and a half weeks from when the agent told me the interview was coming to when my pending weeks finally processed. The interview itself was maybe 15 minutes.

adjudication is the word that scared me most when I first filed. I thought it meant I was being investigated for fraud or something but it just means EDD needs more information before deciding

what counts as misconduct in California EDD's view? my friend got fired and is worried

EDD's own language is pretty vague on purpose - basically it comes down to whether you intentionally did something wrong or violated a known workplace rule in a serious way. But the specifics are really case by case. Your friend should just answer EDD's questions honestly at the phone interview and let EDD decide.

I got fired once for what my employer called misconduct and EDD still paid me because they found it wasn't actually misconduct by their definition. don't assume a firing automatically disqualifies you

I didn't see anything about CalJOBS in my application confirmation. Should I just go register now to be safe?

EDD will send a notice if it's required for you. The notice is called the DE 8405. Wait for it rather than guessing, but if it comes, don't ignore it - 21 days goes fast when you're dealing with everything else.

I registered on CalJOBS before I even got the notice just to be ahead of it and it didn't cause any problems, just had to make sure my resume was actually posted not just created

The waiting week doesn't reduce what your claim can ultimately pay, it just means the first week of eligibility is unpaid. Your total benefit amount stays the same, you just get it over 26 weeks of paid weeks rather than 27.

okay that makes more sense. I was going to call EDD thinking there was an error on my payment

i thought the same thing the first time, almost filed a fraud report on myself lol

My highest earning quarter was actually the most recent one before I got laid off - does that mean it might not count?

If your highest quarter falls in that most recent partial period that gets skipped, EDD automatically checks an alternate base period using the last four full quarters. But only if the standard base period doesn't give you enough wages for a valid claim in the first place. If you already qualify on the standard period, the alternate doesn't come into play.

The person above is right - the alternate base period isn't something you request to try to get a higher weekly amount. It's a fallback for people who barely miss qualifying on the standard one, not a way to maximize benefits.

So getting the DE 429Z doesn't mean I'm approved? I thought that was the green light

It means EDD processed your application and calculated your potential benefits. Actual eligibility gets decided separately, and you find out through payments starting to come through. If EDD decides you don't qualify, you'd get a Notice of Determination instead - that's when you'd find out why and get the chance to appeal.

the lack of an official approval letter is so confusing. i kept waiting for something in the mail that said YES YOU ARE APPROVED and it never came, payment just showed up one day

I have about three weeks of severance coming too, glad to know I shouldn't just wait to file until it runs out

Filing right away is the right move. The claim start date is the Sunday you apply, so waiting just costs you weeks. Report the severance on your certification as it asks and let EDD handle the rest.

Severance paid under a company plan or policy is treated differently from regular wages under EDD's rules - benefits aren't denied just because someone received it. Still has to be reported when certifying, but it's not an automatic disqualifier.

Do I report my work search activity somewhere in UI Online or is it just on my own?

There's no work search log to fill out inside UI Online. EDD might ask about your job search in a certification question. Just keep your own records - dates, company names, how you applied. If EDD ever audits a week you certified, you'll want to show you were actively looking.

I keep a simple spreadsheet with dates and company names, nothing fancy. EDD has never asked me for it but I'd rather have it and not need it

Can I change the withholding election later or is it locked in from the start?

You can change it each time you certify - it's one of the certification questions. So you're not locked into whatever you chose the first time.

I didn't withhold anything thinking unemployment wouldn't be much and ended up owing way more than expected at tax time. definitely recommend at least doing the 10% if you can swing it

is there a way to check if EDD received my identity verification without calling? I uploaded to ID.me but haven't heard anything

Pending weeks in your Claim History section of UI Online often indicate identity or eligibility questions. If your weeks are showing as Pending, that might be what's holding things up. The only way to get specifics is usually to reach EDD directly - either through the live chat on UI Online during weekday mornings, or by phone.

ID.me verification usually posts within a day or two but sometimes EDD's system takes longer to reflect it. If your weeks are still pending after a week of the ID.me being verified on their end, that's worth following up on with EDD directly.

Right, the funding mechanism on the employer's side doesn't change anything about how the claim works for the employee. Benefits are still calculated and paid the same way, same rules, same amounts.

yeah I was worried when someone told me nonprofit employers were different that it meant my claim would be harder to get approved or something. it wasn't, went totally normally

The payroll tax your employer pays for unemployment is capped at a certain annual wage amount per employee, so it's not tied to your full salary at all. It's a fixed system cost on their end, not something they're calculating against what they pay you.

that makes sense. so a company paying someone $60k and someone $120k is paying a different total tax but it's not like the higher earner has a bigger UI 'account' their benefits can draw from

Good to know if my contract work doesn't turn into something permanent. So the weekly amount would stay whatever EDD originally set it at?

Exactly - same weekly benefit amount, same remaining balance from the original claim, you just reopen it and start certifying again for the weeks you're out of work.

and if the benefit year has already ended when you lose work again, then you'd file a fresh claim and EDD would calculate a new benefit amount from your more recent wages

CalJOBS registration causing holds is not something I'd have ever guessed. I'm definitely going to make sure mine is fully posted if I get the DE 8405.

The agent said the resume needs to actually be published on CalJOBS, not just created. A drafted resume sitting in your account that you haven't published doesn't count as registered.

I had the same issue - thought I was done when I created the profile but hadn't hit whatever final publish step it needed. Worth double-checking your CalJOBS account to make sure the resume status shows as active or published