Will AI cause mass unemployment? Worried about filing California EDD if my whole department gets cut

Really glad to hear the AI-displacement angle doesn't change anything from EDD's side. And the severance info is helpful too - I do have two weeks severance coming. So I report it when certifying but I can still file right when my last day comes?

Exactly right. File as soon as your last day arrives, don't hold off waiting to see how the severance shakes out. EDD handles the severance question on the certification side.

The outsourcing comparison makes a lot of sense actually. EDD doesn't care WHY the position went away, just that it did and that it wasn't something you did wrong.

Wait, there's an unpaid waiting week? So my first full week of benefits just disappears?

Not exactly disappears - you serve it but don't get paid for that one week. Everything after that is paid, and it doesn't shrink your total benefit amount or anything.

Yeah the waiting week is basically a one-time thing at the start of every new claim. Annoying but it's baked into how the system works.

I remember panicking about this exact thing on my first claim. The waiting week threw me completely. Worth knowing going in so you're not refreshing UI Online wondering why week one looks empty.

I've been at this company for three years so wage history shouldn't be a problem. The $450 weekly cap is kind of sobering though given what I was making.

Yeah the cap is what it is. EDD has a benefit calculator on its site where you can punch in your quarterly earnings to get an estimate before you even file. Worth doing so March isn't a surprise.

$450 weekly max really does sting when you've been in a decent-paying tech-adjacent role. But it's something while you job hunt.

ID.me - is that something EDD sends you to after you apply, or do you have to find it yourself?

After you apply online through myEDD, you'll get directed to verify your identity with ID.me. It's basically taking a photo of your ID and a selfie. Do it immediately when prompted, don't let it sit.

The ID.me step tripped a lot of people up when it was first rolled out. These days it's pretty smooth if you do it right away like the person above said.

Two layoffs in four years, that's rough. But helpful to hear both went through without issues. Did you have to do a phone interview with EDD either time?

Neither time, actually. Phone interviews are usually triggered when there's a question about why you left - like if you quit, or if the employer claims you were fired for cause. A clean layoff typically doesn't require one.

That tracks with what I've read. The phone interview thing seems to get triggered mainly by disputed separations or when the employer pushes back on the claim.

This is accurate. The certification questions will ask about your work search activities and you need to be genuinely looking. Keep notes on where you're applying.

I was planning to job hunt aggressively anyway, the AI angle makes me want to pivot into a different field entirely. Does EDD have anything for people trying to retrain?

California Training Benefits is actually a thing - if you get into an EDD-approved training program you can keep receiving benefits without the usual work search requirement, and there may be additional weeks available through a Training Extension. You'd want to look into that before your 16th week of benefits though.

The training benefits angle is worth exploring. It's not automatic - you have to apply for it and EDD has to approve the specific training - but it's real and it's there for exactly this kind of situation.

CalJOBS - I've never heard of that. Is that separate from LinkedIn or Indeed or the regular job sites?

It's California's state job system. You still use LinkedIn and all the regular job boards, but EDD requires you to also be registered in CalJOBS. It's more of an administrative requirement than your primary job search tool.

Yeah CalJOBS is kind of clunky compared to the commercial job sites but you need to have your profile and resume there or EDD can hold your payments.

I completely forgot about CalJOBS when I first got laid off and payments did stop for a bit until I sorted it out. Don't let it slip.

Should I talk to my employer's HR before my last day to make sure they'll code it right?

Worth asking HR what they'll put on the paperwork, yes. Most corporate HR departments know to code a mass reduction in force correctly - it's usually not a problem. It's more of an issue when it's a one-person firing and there's a dispute about the reason.

I'd also keep any written communication from your employer about the layoff - the official notice, any emails about the reduction in force. If there's ever any question about the reason for separation you'll want that documentation.

Good to know about the Money Network card. I'll probably set up direct deposit since I already have everything automated through my bank.

Setting it up early is smart. Just do it in myEDD when you first log in, before you even do your first certification.

Oh I had no idea about the federal tax thing. 10 percent withholding sounds light but I guess it beats getting a bill in April with no money set aside.

Yeah the tax thing catches people off guard. 10% won't cover it if you're in a higher bracket from your old salary, so factoring that in when budgeting through the benefit period makes sense.

Exactly - if your regular income put you in a higher federal bracket, the 10 percent won't be enough to cover the full tax on benefits. Something to run by an accountant or at least factor into your budget.

That's honestly reassuring in a weird way. I was worried I'd have to fight some extra battle just because of HOW I lost my job.

Nope, EDD doesn't require you to explain what technology replaced you or anything like that. The 'why' the company made the decision is not really EDD's question - EDD's question is just whether you are separated, without fault, with qualifying wages.

The WARN Act question is a real thing for large layoffs but it's separate from the EDD unemployment claim process. EDD handles your UI claim independently of whatever your employer's legal obligations were on notice. File your claim through EDD regardless of any WARN Act stuff - those are two different tracks.

Makes sense that they're separate tracks. I just remembered my friend's situation and thought it might be relevant.

Worth consulting an employment attorney if you think your employer didn't follow proper procedures on the mass layoff notice side. But yes, do not wait on filing your EDD claim while figuring any of that out - file immediately.

This is exactly what keeps me up at night. The benefits are temporary and I need to figure out not just a next job but maybe a whole different direction.

The California Training Benefits program the person above mentioned is actually worth looking into seriously. If you can get into an approved program, you buy yourself more time to actually retrain rather than just scrambling for the first thing that comes along.

The retraining angle is real. When I was laid off from the document review job I seriously considered it. Eventually found something in a different role before I needed to invoke it, but knowing it existed made the job search less panicked.

Three months of pending is terrifying. The idea that a document could just be in limbo like that is a nightmare scenario. Did resubmitting through Ask EDD actually fix it or did you have to do more?

Resubmitting through Ask EDD did fix it in my case. The agent was pretty specific that the system had no record of the original submission, so a fresh submission with a note about the previous one is what she recommended.

This is a good reminder to always keep your own records of anything you send EDD. Screenshots, confirmation numbers, whatever you have.

Good tip about the live chat. I didn't even realize that existed. Is it a real person or a bot?

Real person. It's labeled as live chat with an agent. The 9 to 2 window is relatively narrow so you can't use it outside those hours but within those hours it's been useful for me.

The 8 a.m. Monday call strategy is real. That's when the phones are freshest. By midday Wednesday it's very hard to get through.

I hadn't thought about CalFresh. I'll look into applying at BenefitsCal just to see.

BenefitsCal is the place to apply, yes. And if you lose your employer-provided health insurance with this job, Covered California is an option regardless of income.

COBRA is also worth pricing out when you get the paperwork after your last day. It's usually expensive but it's a continuation of your exact current plan if that matters for ongoing care.

Yeah I think that's exactly where my anxiety came from, conflating the policy debate articles with what EDD actually does right now. That distinction helps.

It's an easy conflation to make because those articles are everywhere and they're alarming. The practical answer for anyone facing an actual layoff right now is: file through EDD, it's a standard claim.

Agreed. Policy debates and current EDD practice are two totally separate things and the news articles don't always make that clear.

Oh that's a gotcha I didn't know about - so if I got a raise recently it might not even be in my benefit calculation?

Exactly, the standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. So your most recent completed quarter isn't included. A raise in the last several months before you apply might fall outside what EDD counts. The DE 429Z you get in the mail will show your actual weekly amount.

The base period explanation is accurate and trips a lot of people up. Use the benefit calculator on EDD's site with the right quarters - not just your current salary - to get a more realistic estimate.

This is a really common source of confusion. People expect EDD to just see what you were making right before the layoff and it's genuinely more complicated than that.

26 weeks is my mental runway then. That's what I'll plan around unless something changes.

That's the right way to think about it. And 26 weeks is the maximum - what you actually get could be less depending on your total base period wages, since the max benefit amount is 26 times your weekly amount or half of all base period wages, whichever is less.

The California Training Benefits extension can add weeks beyond the 26 if you apply before your 16th week of benefits and EDD approves the training. Worth factoring in if you're serious about retraining.

I have two weeks severance confirmed. I'll report it on the certification as the instructions ask.

Two weeks is something, better than nothing. Report it and let EDD do the math.

EDD's guide says severance paid under a company plan or policy isn't counted as wages for UI purposes, so it typically doesn't affect your benefit payments, but you still report it and EDD decides. Don't skip reporting it.