Why did industrial production drop and unemployment go up again 1938? California EDD context for my claim

Four days of busy signals is exactly what I've been dealing with. So the agent was actually able to explain the base period calculation right there on the call? That's what I need - mine doesn't add up on the DE 429Z and I can't figure out if EDD used the right quarters.

Same question from me - did the agent say anything about whether a quarter where hours got cut way down still counts toward the highest-quarter calculation or does EDD kind of ignore really low quarters?

The agent walked through which four quarters were in my standard base period by date range, confirmed the highest one, and explained the weekly amount from there. She couldn't tell me the exact formula but said the DE 429Z number was correct for my case. For a quarter with cut hours it would still count, just probably not be the highest - EDD takes whichever quarter had the most wages.

That's the part that's confusing me. My claim IS valid - I had well over $1,300 in my highest quarter - but I feel like my most recent quarter (which was actually my best) might be outside the standard base period window. Is there anything I can do about that?

If your claim is already valid under the standard base period, the alternate base period won't be applied, even if the alternate would give you a higher amount. That's just how EDD's rules work - the alternate exists only as a fallback for claims that wouldn't otherwise qualify, not as an upgrade option. Your best bet is to call EDD and have them walk through which exact calendar quarters are in your base period so you know for sure.

wait i thought you could request the alternate base period if u wanted? my cousin said she did that

The alternate base period isn't something you request to get a better rate - EDD applies it automatically and only when the standard base period doesn't produce a valid claim. If your cousin's claim already qualified under the standard period, something else was going on there, or the information got mixed up along the way.

Yeah the economic history parallel is what's been messing with my head - like are we in a 1937 situation right now where things looked okay and then fell apart, or something different. Anyway you're right that the layoff itself shouldn't be the problem for my claim.

the 1938 thing was also partly the Fed tightening reserve requirements which squeezed credit. not super relevant to your EDD situation but since you brought up the history angle - it's a good example of how multiple policy mistakes can compound a contraction

The pending weeks thing is what I'm afraid of - I need this money and every day that goes by without being able to talk to someone is stressful.

Live chat through the Help button in UI Online is real and I've used it, but you have to be in that 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday window. I missed it twice because I didn't check the hours.

Even the live chat has a queue and I got disconnected from it once. 9 to 2 is not a lot of hours when you're also trying to look for work and do all the other stuff EDD requires.

I didn't know there was a calculator - going to try that right now. If the estimate doesn't match what's on my DE 429Z that'll at least confirm I should push back.

Yep it's on edd.ca.gov, just search for Unemployment Benefit Calculator. It's an estimate but it uses the same base period logic so if yours comes out significantly different from your DE 429Z, that's your signal to call EDD and ask them to walk through the calculation with you.

Does the calculator let you specify which quarters you're inputting or does it just take whatever you give it? Trying to figure out if I'd need to know my exact quarter dates first

30 days from the mailing date - okay that's good to know. Mine came about two weeks ago so I still have time but I should figure this out soon.

Exactly. If you end up calling EDD and the agent confirms the calculation is right, great, no appeal needed. But if something is actually off, you want the written appeal in before that deadline. Use the Appeal Form DE 1000M or just write a letter to the address on the notice.

i thought appeals were only for denials? didn't know you could appeal the weekly amount

oh okay so you CAN appeal the weekly amount, got it. I was under the impression appeals were only for disqualification notices

Disqualification comes on a Notice of Determination, which is different from the DE 429Z. The DE 429Z is the award notice showing your weekly amount and maximum benefit amount. Both are appealable within 30 days of the mailing date on each one.

This is really helpful. So my sequence would be: try to reach EDD by phone to verify the calculation first, and if they confirm it's wrong or can't help, file a written appeal before my 30-day window closes on the DE 429Z. Does calling EDD stop the clock on the appeal deadline at all?

Calling EDD does not pause the appeal deadline - the 30 days runs from the mailing date no matter what. If you think the amount is wrong, file the appeal before the deadline even if you're still waiting to reach someone by phone. You can always withdraw or not pursue it if EDD fixes the issue, but you can't get the deadline back.

That's actually reassuring - overtime from further back might still be in the window. My issue is the opposite, my most recent quarter was my strongest and I'm worried it's outside the standard period.

If your most recent quarter is your best and it's outside the standard base period window, that's the classic alternate base period situation - but only if your claim doesn't qualify under the standard period to begin with. If it already qualifies, EDD won't switch. That's the frustrating part of the rule.

I got that notice - registered and posted my resume within the first week. Didn't want to risk anything stopping payments.

same, that DE 8405 came fast and I almost missed it because I was dealing with everything else at once

Glad yours is handled. I've seen people on here say they missed the 21 days and had payments stop, then had to call EDD to sort it out. Much easier to just do it right away.

How did you report the part-time hours - through UI Online during certification or through Report Wages separately?

During certification, the questions ask about work and earnings for each week. I just answered honestly with what I earned that week and it went through. I'd heard about the Report Wages option in UI Online but I think that's for before you certify, to check how wages in a week would affect your payment - it doesn't change weeks you've already certified.

Right - Report Wages in UI Online is a planning tool for the upcoming week, not a correction tool for past certifications. If you reported a past week wrong, you'd need to contact EDD directly, either through a message in your UI Online account or by phone.

EDD wants you to report wages for the week they were earned, not when you were paid. So if you worked 3 days in that week, you'd report those 3 days' worth of earnings. The layoff happening on day 4 doesn't change how those 3 days of wages are counted - they're part of that week's earnings and get reported for that week.

oh okay that makes sense, so it's just the actual days you worked not the full week. thanks

And the formula EDD uses is that your first $25 or 25 percent of gross earnings (whichever is bigger) doesn't count against your weekly benefit amount, and the rest gets subtracted. So partial-week earnings usually don't wipe out your payment entirely - you'd just get a reduced amount for that week.

Constructive quit - that's a term I've seen but I'm not 100% sure what it means in EDD's eyes. My hours got cut a lot before the actual layoff. Does that create any issue?

Hours cuts before a layoff can get complicated. If EDD views your departure as a quit rather than a layoff, the burden shifts to you to show good cause. But a formal layoff where the employer ended the employment relationship should be treated as a layoff. The phone interview, if EDD schedules one, is where that gets sorted out. Keep any paperwork showing the layoff was the employer's decision.

Small correction on the framing - EDD's standard is that if you quit, you need to show good reason, and if you were fired, the employer needs to show misconduct. The burden shifting language can be a bit misleading. For a layoff, neither side needs to prove those things - it's out of work through no fault of your own. The question of whether something was truly a layoff vs. something else is what the interview would address if there's any ambiguity.

Submitting documentation through the UI Online message thread - is that just through the Help section or is there a separate messaging option?

There's a message option when you're logged into your UI Online account. The agent told me to send it there with a note explaining which weeks the documentation was for. It's not the fastest thing but it created a record of what I sent and when.

Did you have to do anything specific to format the documentation or just attach whatever you had? Asking because I might need to do something similar for my own claim

A pension or retirement payment based on past work can reduce your UI benefits, and EDD decides how much. It's not automatically zero effect - EDD looks at the specifics of your pension. The thing to do is report it accurately when certifying and let EDD make the determination. I wouldn't rely on anyone here to tell you the exact reduction because EDD decides case by case.

okay so i should report it and EDD will figure out how much if anything gets deducted. Got it. I was worried I'd have to calculate something myself

Social Security benefits are different from pensions in this respect - Social Security does not get deducted from UI and you don't report it. But a pension from a former employer is on EDD's list of things that may affect your payment, so yes, report it and let EDD decide.

I did have some contract work in one of the quarters - I reported it on my application. I didn't think about how that might interact with the base period calculation.

EDD should have it if you reported it on the application. The base period pulls from all wages reported under your Social Security number for California employment. If you have any doubt about whether a particular employer's wages showed up, that's another thing worth asking an agent to confirm when you get through.

Certified as soon as my period opened - UI Online is pretty intuitive for that part. The base period calculation question is my main issue, not the certification process.

Yeah the certification itself is usually fine, it's always the backend stuff like base period windows and adjudication where people run into walls. Hope the calculator or a phone call gets you the clarity you need.

High volume or not, EDD should staff for it. We all paid into this system through our employers and when the economy actually cycles down is exactly when people need it to work smoothly.

Agreed. And the people who get laid off in a sector-wide contraction all hit the system at the same time, which compounds the access problem.

The timing of a cyclical layoff affecting your ability to even reach EDD to sort out your claim is its own kind of frustrating. Everyone in the same industry hits the phone lines at once.

i made the same mistake, kept asking EDD if my appeal was approved when i didn't even have a denial yet, just a pending adjudication. the agent had to explain the difference to me

Adjudication is EDD's internal process for deciding eligibility when there's a question - like a separation issue, a discrepancy in wages, or anything else that needs review. An appeal comes after EDD has already issued a Notice of Determination and you disagree with it. You can't appeal something EDD hasn't decided yet. The confusion is really understandable though because EDD doesn't do a great job of explaining what adjudication even is on the notices.

Exactly - and during adjudication you should still keep certifying every two weeks even though the weeks show as Pending. If EDD decides in your favor, they can process payment for weeks that were certified. If you stopped certifying while waiting you'd have no way to get those weeks paid out.

Missing a certification is something to contact EDD about directly. EDD has the ability to allow late certifications in some circumstances but there's no guaranteed rule that it'll be accepted. The sooner you reach out to EDD about it, the better your chances of getting it addressed.

okay so not automatically lost but I need to contact EDD asap. Got it. That's stressful

Made the same mistake once early in my claim. Went through the UI Online message option to explain what happened and EDD was able to review it. I can't promise the same result for your situation but reaching out through your UI Online account message is a good first step if you can't get through by phone right away.

I opted for the 10 percent withholding when I certified just to avoid a surprise tax bill in the spring. Even with the lower weekly amount it felt like the safer choice.

Probably smart. And just to clarify something that confuses people - nothing comes out of your paycheck for unemployment insurance, only your employer pays that. What comes out of your check labeled CASDI is for State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave, which are separate programs. No contribution to UI comes from the worker side.

wait seriously? I always thought I was paying into unemployment. that's actually good to know

I hadn't thought about the training extension option. My industry has been slow to hire and retraining might be realistic. Is the application for that something you do through UI Online or separately?

It's separate from UI Online - you'd contact EDD to ask about California Training Benefits and the Training Extension. The key thing is the timing: you need to apply before your 16th week of receiving benefits. I can't tell you exactly what program you'd qualify for since EDD decides that, but it's worth asking about sooner rather than later given the manufacturing sector situation.

The 1938 parallel actually works here too - economic contractions in durable goods manufacturing tend to be longer than average recoveries, which is part of why training programs exist. When a whole sector contracts it can take years for hiring to recover to prior levels. Planning ahead for that makes sense.

The phone interview isn't a denial warning - it means EDD has a question about your eligibility that needs to be resolved before they can pay. Common reasons include a separation question, like if you were fired or quit rather than laid off. The DE 4800 tells you the date and time and what topics are likely to be covered. You need to keep your phone available at that time because that's when the interviewer will call. If you miss it, phone EDD that same day to explain.

I did keep my phone ready and the interview happened on time. The interviewer asked about my last day of work and why the company said I resigned when I didn't. I explained I was laid off, the interviewer noted my answer, and said EDD would review and mail a Notice of Determination. Still waiting on that.

How long does it typically take to get the Notice of Determination after the phone interview? I might be facing one of those too if EDD has questions about the hours cuts before my layoff.

Timing varies and nobody can give you a reliable number - EDD's own materials just say to watch for it in the mail. Keep certifying while you wait because if EDD decides in your favor, your pending weeks only get paid if you certified them.

No prior claim - this is my first time filing. But good to know for future reference if the benefit year is still open.

First claim then the base period question is definitely the main thing to sort out. EDD's calculator can give you a rough sense and then calling to confirm is the safest move.

Reopening is different from starting fresh and I think a lot of people don't realize it - if your benefit year is still open you absolutely reopen rather than file new, because a new claim might not even be valid if you don't have enough new wages in a new base period yet. Good call flagging that.